Reflexes

A reflex is an automatic response to a stimulus. They include anything from blinking in response to a puff of air or turning in response to a strange noise behind you. All of the reflexes that we have are basically linked to survival. When babies are born, they have a multitude of reflexes that help them to survive. In order to eat, the rooting and sucking reflexes occur. Rooting guides the baby to find its mother’s breast or its bottle. Once it has found where its food will be coming from, the sucking reflex begins. The sucking reflex often doesn’t begin in utero until about the 32^nd week and isn’t fully developed until the 36^th week. For some infants that are born premature, this reflex can be weakened. Most of the primitive reflexes seen in infancy disappear as time goes on, but others such as vomiting and salivating remain.