Rooting reflex
This is activated when the corner of the newborn’s mouth is stroked or touched. Baby will turn their head and open his/her mouth to follow and "root" in the direction of the stroking. This helps baby find the breast or bottle and begin feeding.

Suck reflex
Rooting helps the newborn become ready to suck. When the roof of the baby’s mouth is touched the baby will begin to suck. This reflex does not begin until around the 32 week of pregnancy and is not fully developed until around 36 weeks. Premature babies may have an immature or week sucking ability because of the early birth, C- section babies can also experience difficulty with the sucking reflex.

Spinal Galant Reflex
Occurs when the skin along the side of an infant's back is stroked, the infant will swing towards the side that was stroked. It is present at birth and fades between the ages of four to six months.

Postural Righting reflex
Babies are not born with this reflex. It occurs around 5 months of age and is the reason your baby no longer want to ‘float’ with baby on their back they are trying to ‘right’ themselves to get the head in the upright position. The chin comes to the chest, the arms and the legs straighten upward.

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