The Landau reflex is a secondary reflex that appears around the fourth month of the baby's life and its absence can be an indicator of motor weakness or slower mental development. The primary and secondary reflexes are involuntary responses of the body that serve to check if the development of the baby is normal.. The primary reflexes are those with which the baby is born, and the secondary ones, those that appear throughout the child's life.
Among the secondary reflexes is the Landau reflex, which appears around 4 months of age and disappears around 12 months. This reflex can be seen when the baby is placed face down. with the abdomen in our hands. In this situation, instead of being dropped by gravity, the baby tenses the body, stretches the trunk and legs and raises the head to look forward and search for a visual reference. If you notice that your baby lacks this reflex, contact your pediatrician for proper evaluation.
What is the Landau reflex?
The Landau reflex is one of many reflexes that can be seen in the first few months of a baby's life. These reflexes show that the nervous system is working efficiently.. Like any other reflex, the Landau reflex is an involuntary response to a stimulus. The reflections They are instinctive acts of our body. We carry them in our DNA, since their main function is to allow us to adapt to the environment that surrounds us and with which we interact.
There are primary reflexes that we are born with, such as yawning, sneezing, or blinking. But there are also secondary reflexes, which are those that we learn in the course of our lives. One of them is the Landau reflex, which appears during the fourth month of life and continues until approximately 2 years of age, although it can disappear before this age. As the baby develops voluntary and conscious movements, this reflex becomes less noticeable.
How is the Landau reflex evaluated?
To evaluate it, the baby is placed in a ventral position (face down) on the arm, forming a right angle with the forearm. You can also lay him on his stomach on the floor on a blanket, or on his bed. The baby should straighten the torso and lift the limbs and head, slightly bending the knees and elbows. What the baby tries to do with these actions is to counteract the effect of gravity, while she looks forward to find a point of gravity. With this action the child avoids suffocation when she is face down, and also prepares for the crawling movements.
It is recommended that this evaluation be carried out by the baby's pediatrician.. First, because you will be able to better detect the baby's responses. And second, because if you do it at home, you might not control the baby's movement, and having an arm that is useless from holding the baby, it could fall or suffer some sudden or inopportune movement. For this reason, it is best to perform the test in the controlled environment of a medical consultation.
What does the absence of the Landau reflex mean?
The absence of this response may suggest motor weakness. by the baby, and it will be necessary to exercise their motor development accordingly. It could also indicate a delayed maturation mental. So it is best to always follow the recommendations of your pediatrician. Pediatric evaluation not only consists of notifying the presence of the reflex, but also its execution, even if it is totally involuntary. If the expected reflex does not appear, it could indicate some type of motor or mental deficiency, as mentioned above.
Instead, if the movement is weak, could be a symptom of muscle weakness. If, on the other hand, the movement is end, could be the result of a withdrawal syndrome. If your reflection is asymmetric, that is, if it does not move the two parts of the body equally, it could be a sign of a clavicular injury, among other possibilities.