The newborn does not keep his head upright. How to determine if everything is normal

The development of a child in the first months is a very important, crucial stage in his life. During this period, favorable conditions are laid for him to grow up healthy and strong. One of the first skills of the baby is the ability to hold his head on his own. Therefore, the first thing parents want to know is when the child begins to hold his head.

At this stage of development, mom and dad are obliged to help the baby cope with such a very difficult task for him. When taking it on the handles, one must try to maintain it in a comfortable position and not allow the head to tip back or sideways.

Weak muscles of the neck or back of the baby do not allow him to hold a heavy head immediately after birth. But after twenty days he can lift it. When the child is performed, he reacts to a loud sound by turning his head. Face down, the baby raises his head and lingers in this state for a few seconds.

There is still no confidence in his movements, since the neck muscles have not yet grown strong enough. In life, the baby not only holds its head on its own, but also turns it to the sides. The next important step for him is to raise on the forearms and hold the head in an upright position for quite a long time.

Such indicators are conditional and only approximate guidelines for young parents. The limits of individual development for all babies are different. But if the baby is 3 months old, and he does not hold his head, then you need to consult a neurologist.

Signs that the child is ready

There are a number of signs by which it is possible to determine that the baby is ready and will soon begin to hold his head on his own. After he is a month old, you can check the baby for independent holding of the head. It should be put on the tummy and try to attract his attention with a bright object from above. Healthy children already raise their heads for a few seconds to examine the object that aroused their interest.

This can also be verified with sound. For example, clap your hands over a baby or shake a rattle. In this case, the newborn is also placed on the tummy. If he tries to raise his head and he does not succeed, then this is a reason for excitement. Young parents should consult a pediatrician and also get advice from a neurologist.

If the child does not hold his head?

If the baby does not have the ability to turn his head to the sides when he lies on his tummy, then this means that there are serious problems. Perhaps their solution will include complex drug therapy and several massage sessions. You can't do without a visit to a specialist.

If the baby is not able to hold his head when he is already 3 months old, this means one of the problems:

1. The birth was difficult and with pathology.
2. The baby has low muscle tone, because he is rarely laid out on his stomach.
3. Insufficient body weight. If there is a shortage of breast milk, it is necessary to introduce supplementary feeding with a mixture recommended by the pediatrician.

If the child holds his head at an angle, the pediatrician will definitely send him to.

A newborn does not hold his head at 4 months for the following reasons:

1. Problems with the nervous system.
2. Possible injury.
3. Poor weight gain may be the reason for the fact that the baby holds his head insecurely.
4. Pathologies associated with difficult childbirth that have not been cured before.

If the baby is 5-6 months old and has problems holding his head, then he may have one of the following problems:

1. Baby eating disorders. The lack of nutrients in food affects its development.
2. Prematurity. The child will lag behind in development. Under favorable circumstances, this will change by about a year.
3. Low muscle tone. Recommended therapeutic massage and special exercises.
4. neurological disorders. You can cope with malfunctions in the nervous system by doing a general strengthening massage.
5. Underdeveloped neck muscles.

How to know that everything is in order?

If it is difficult to find out if the baby can hold his head, you need to check this with the help of these exercises:

1. Grab the baby by the arms and lift it from a lying position so that it sits down. If the baby holds his head for at least a couple of seconds, then this is the norm and muscle tone develops well. For a long time, a newborn in a sitting position should not be left. Children should not sit down before 5 months, especially girls.
2. To perform the second exercise, to check the neck muscles, the child must also be slightly lifted by the handles. He should try to keep his head at the level of the ridge for at least a short time. If he succeeds, then there is no reason to worry.

Dr. Komarovsky believes that everything has its time. No matter how many months the child begins to hold his head on his own, it is individual for each. It's important to be patient.

How can parents help?

Mom's help is needed to strengthen children's muscles. To do this, you need to plan special physical exercises with the baby. Spread it on the tummy more often, use a roller to hold the head in a level position. Relaxing baths with medicinal herbs will be useful for the crumbs. Nutrition and maintenance of the baby should be at a high level.

You can use fitball. It is very effective in changing the curvature of the neck. At 2 months, the baby should be laid face down on the ball. He intuitively begins to raise his head. For the development of the cervical muscles, it is useful to keep the baby in an upright position.

It is necessary to understand that the child begins to hold his head on his own, it is impossible to teach him this skill, you can only help. All children develop in their own way and they hold their heads at different stages of their development. But if by six months the neck muscles remain weak, you should definitely consult a doctor.

Useful video about when the child begins to hold his head

As you know, a person learns all his life. When we grow up, we don’t think much about stereotypical movements like taking a step, raising a hand, nodding. And that's what you have to learn! The learning process starts from the first minute of being in this world. And gradually, day after day, the helpless baby becomes stronger, acquires the skills necessary for life. Each of them appears at its own time, when the body is ready to perform certain movements. One of these skills is not to hang your nose and look at the world with your head held high! Of course, these are all metaphors, but we are talking about the development of the neck muscles. So, when does a newborn begin to hold his head on his own?

Hello dear readers of the blog, I continue to share with you the knowledge about small children. Today we will talk about babies from 0 to 4 months.

And now it's time!

The musculoskeletal system in newborns is very poorly developed. This is due to many factors, but, first of all, with the need to push through the narrow birth canal. If the baby's body were not soft and pliable, he simply could not be born.

So, the head of the fetus in the womb, at the beginning of the mother's labor activity, comes in the position of maximum flexion, that is, the chin is tightly pressed to the chest. In the process of childbirth, a man must overcome several physiological obstacles, for this he makes certain movements. These include body rotation and head extension. With the suboccipital fossa, the head rests against the pubic joint in order to pass the birth canal. If the muscles were strong initially, if the head holding reflex were innate, overcoming these stages would become problematic (read impossible).

The bones of a child are very soft. By and large, they do not even fully complete their transformation from cartilage. In addition, the infant's nervous system is also at a "preparatory" stage of development. Neither the spinal cord nor the brain is yet perfect, the reflex arcs are not yet formed. And there is no need to talk about conscious movements.

All these factors allow us to formulate the reasons why the little one does not hold his head on his own:

• "Fragility" of the spine;
• weakness of the neck muscles;
• lack of necessary reflexes.

But skill is very important. That is why it appears one of the first. Already by 14-17 days of life, the baby has enough strength to turn his head to one side in the prone position. The instinct of self-preservation works here so as not to suffocate. Gradually, the newborn learns to keep his head on weight longer and longer. By one and a half months it will not descend within half a minute (the position is similar on the stomach), but to two within a couple of minutes. However, if you lifted the baby by two hands from a horizontal position towards you, its upper part will still tilt back. But by three months no longer, although the muscles are not yet strong enough.

By the age of 16 weeks, the baby can already turn and turn his head with might and main, studying the world around him. He even tries to lift his upper body off the bed while lying on his back. From this moment on, the baby's head can be specially not supported, only a little insuring it.

Trust but verify

When a newborn begins to hold his head on his own, parents usually notice this, no matter what age it happens. However, how to finally make sure that the baby is holding it himself, and you can not hold it all the time?

On several grounds:

• The little one calmly rises on her forearms;
• the head does not swing up and down (you know, like in car dogs) trying to go down;
• when lifting it by outstretched arms, it does not lean back;
• lying on his back, the newborn tries to raise his head, and he manages to leave it raised for a couple of seconds.

Something went wrong…

What problems can arise with holding a small "bowler"? It's simple: sooner, later or wrong. A little about everything.

early hold

Hasty people, as you know, try to master skills ahead of time, but there is nothing good in the fact that a child raises his thinking apparatus early. However, don't panic right away. In addition to the symptom of early lifting of the head, pathological conditions have other signs.

Causes that can cause premature retention:

1. Hypertonicity. At birth, the baby has physiological hypertonicity of the flexor muscles, it disappears by 3-4 months. But to raise the head, you need to tighten the extensor muscles. If they are constantly working, then the baby minnow will be able to confidently hold on almost immediately after birth. However, in this case, passive movements will be difficult (it is difficult to bend or straighten the leg).
2. Increased intracranial pressure. Caused by a birth injury, disease or tumor, this pathology leads to overstrain of the neck muscles (in fact, the same hypertonicity). Among other signs, an abnormally large diameter of the skull, a bulging fontanel, and a divergence of bones. Indirect signs may be anxiety, sleep disturbances, weight loss.

But, fortunately, it happens that healthy babies are ahead of the norm. Therefore, if a newborn begins to hold his head on his own very early, it is necessary to consult a pediatrician. The doctor will conduct an examination and, excluding the pathological causes of this rush, will give recommendations on caring for the baby.

Wrong hold

Sometimes the baby begins to hold the head in time, but it is noticeable that it leans to one side all the time. In addition, the newborn turns only to the right or left, both in the arms of the mother and in bed. This behavior of the child may indicate the development of torticollis. This is an orthopedic disease characterized by abnormal development of the sternocleidomastoid muscles. On the one hand, it is weaker than on the other, which leads to an incorrect position of the head.

This disease is treated by massage, simple "tricks" such as moving the bed from one wall of the room to another, but you need to start on time. Otherwise, surgery will be required.

Late hold

Any mother with incredible fervor is ready to prove that her baby is the one and only. No one has the right to tell him when and what to be able to do! But do not rush into emotions. Of course, any person is individual, and all development processes occur at their own pace. However, we are all the same species, which means that the indicators should not differ significantly. Therefore, the "handicap" for the baby is two to three weeks. If during this time the moment does not come when the newborn begins to hold his head on his own, it's time to see a doctor.

What could be the reason?

• Prematurity and underweight;
• trauma received by the baby during childbirth;
• insufficient muscle tone;
• neurological diseases;
• lack of proper "training", parents did not lay out on the stomach.

How to help the little one?

What to do if it is difficult for the baby to cope with his body on his own? How to teach a child to hold his head?

1. From the first weeks of life, turn the child on his stomach without helping him turn his head. Of course, leaving him alone in this position is not worth it, but let the child enter the side position on his own.
2. Lay your child on a hard surface. On the bed there is no point, it does not train the muscles.
3. Attract attention with bright toys, pat on the back, talk affectionately, let him not roll over for as long as possible.
4. From about a month, help him stand on his forearms, supporting his arms from his sides. For a while, the baby will be able to remain in this position. When his little head sinks to the surface, and he starts crying (it's uncomfortable to lie like that), do not rush to shift. Let him stretch his arms forward.
5. Consult with a specialist, he can advise certain massage techniques.
6. You can do gymnastics: grab it with one hand under the chest, and with the other under the hips, swing it up and down. A variation of this exercise is the so-called "boat" to alternately raise the upper and lower parts of the body, lowering the other.

Video

Conclusion

Thus, dear parents, do not worry if exactly at the appointed time the baby has not learned to confidently keep his “nose to the wind”. However, a significant lag, as well as an advance, may indicate the presence of pathology. It is worth saying that the time when a newborn begins to hold his head on his own sneaks up unnoticed. How many weeks or months the skill would not come is a surprise for loved ones, because the baby is getting older and “more self-confident”. And I say goodbye to you until the next, I hope useful and interesting articles. Subscribe so you don't miss them!

Immediately after birth, parents ask themselves the question: when does the child begin to hold his head? This seemingly simple body control skill does not appear immediately in newborns. The kid learns to master the muscles of the neck within 2-3 months, but the period depends on the individual characteristics of development.

The Four Stages of Developing an Important Habit

Before answering how many months, it is necessary to trace the stages of skill formation. The process occurs gradually and deviations in development are noticeable already in the first weeks of the baby's life.

Bogdanova Lyudmila Alekseevna, Israel, clinic "Top-Ichilov", neurophysiologist, physiotherapist, doctor of functional diagnostics

Even the doctor will not be able to tell you exactly from what month the child begins to hold his head. Each organism develops individually.

As a rule, children hold their heads by three months. But if the baby was born weak, do not rush him. Give your muscles time to get stronger. Also listen to your neurologist and pediatrician. Massage and gymnastics will help strengthen muscles and speed up skill development.

Birth to 6 weeks

Up to a month and a half, newborns have weak neck muscles and cannot hold their heads upright. To avoid injury to the upper spine, support the baby's head when holding him..

After the umbilical wound has healed, start laying the baby on the tummy. The innate protective reflex will make the baby raise his head and lay it on its side. At the same time, the muscles of the neck are trained, and intestinal motility is also improved, which will help prevent colic.

If a month-old baby keeps his head on a par with his body, do not rejoice. This may indicate neurological problems, so take the little patient to the doctor.

6 weeks - 2 months

At one and a half months, the baby, lying on his tummy, can raise his head by 45 ° and hold it for one minute or more. And closer to the 8th week, the baby makes the first attempts to raise the head vertically.

It is forbidden to plant a child - too early, but pull the handles - and he will reach for you

If you lift a child lying on his back by the handles, trying to seat him, the back of the baby's head will remain flush with the back.

At an earlier age, with such manipulations, the newborn is not able to raise his head and throws it back.

2-3 months

The baby begins to hold his head upright, but quickly gets tired. Insure the baby by substituting your palm under the back of the child's head.

4 months

This is the period when children begin to hold their heads on their own. The baby twirls it in all directions, and when laid out on the stomach, it also lifts the upper body.

It is impossible to say unequivocally at what time the child begins to hold his head. He makes the first attempts in 3-4 weeks, and finally the skill is fixed by four months.

When do preterm babies start holding their heads?

The development of premature babies is different from those born at term. Such crumbs are born weak and fragile, often require incubation care.

Premature babies in the second month of life do not yet raise their heads

4 Weak muscle tone in the neck and back. It occurs due to partial damage to the central nervous system or insufficient muscle development. The second option is more common, which is treated with massage and special gymnastics.

After one or two courses with a chiropractor, the problem goes away without a trace. In the first case, it is necessary to treat damage to the nervous system, which includes both massage and medication.

5 Imbalance between the flexors and extensors of the neck. The ability to hold the head vertically is formed as a result of achieving a balance of the posterior muscles of the neck and their antagonists - the "nodding heads" located in front.

In newborns, the muscles of the back surface are more active due to the unconditioned reflex. It allows you to turn your head or raise it in case of danger of suffocation.

The functions of the "nods" develop rapidly and by two months they allow you to keep your head upright. If the muscles of the front surface of the neck are underdeveloped, the baby, when trying to raise his head, throws it back.

In this case, special collars that the child wears to prevent tipping over, as well as massage and gymnastics, will help.

We suggest watching the video and doing exercises on the fitball together with the baby, which will take you 3 minutes:

Regular visits to the pediatrician will help to notice the problem in time. The doctor knows exactly at what age children begin to hold their heads and how to treat if the baby has not learned such a necessary skill.

Zaitsev Sergey Vladimirovich, Moscow, MC "Nevro-Med", pediatric neurologist, candidate of medical sciences, doctor of the highest category

You should not strive as early as possible to teach the baby to hold his head, sit, stand. Everything has its time. If the child does not have pathologies and neurological problems, regular laying out on the stomach to strengthen the muscles of the neck is quite enough.

By interfering with the natural process, you can do harm. The child's body is fragile, wait until it gets stronger.

5 methods to strengthen the muscles of the neck

Is your baby about 3 months old, healthy, but not holding his head? Perhaps his muscles weren't strong enough yet. To strengthen them, do simple exercises that have no contraindications:

1. Lay your baby on your stomach more often. If it is difficult for the baby to be in this position, help him. To do this, turn the baby with its legs towards you and wrap your arms around it from the sides. Hold the handles with your palms so that the elbows do not move apart and the baby does not lose balance. To speed up the process, special techniques have been developed.

Don't put your baby on your tummy immediately after eating. Constriction of the diaphragm causes profuse regurgitation.

1. Carry the baby in your arms in the "airplane" position. Hold the neck with one hand, and place the other under the tummy and chest. Babies love to be in this position, because during the exercise they are swayed and carried around the room, where there are a lot of interesting things.
2. Give your baby a special massage. Lay the baby on its back and stroke and pat the neck from the chin to the chest. This way you will tone your muscles.
3. Do fitball exercises with your child. Put the baby on the ball with his tummy and rock back and forth and left and right. The baby will try to raise his head vertically to the floor. At the same time, not only the anterior and posterior muscles are pumped, but also the lateral ones, which prevents torticollis. You will find more exercises with the baby.
4. Swim with your little one in the bathtub. During the first lessons, it is necessary to hold the baby under the chin. When the child is slightly stronger, the adult holds him with both hands by the chest and tummy. Make sure the baby does not swallow water. How useful can be and 7 reasons when it is forbidden is disclosed in detail in our other article.

Do not stop the exercises when the child began to confidently hold his head. So you will consolidate the skill, avoiding regression.

The following article will help shed some light on the parents question.

The primary skill mastered by the baby is the ability to raise and hold his head in this position. Many young mothers are interested in knowing when the child begins to hold his head without assistance. Even experienced women who have a second or third child can forget when this should be normal.

Usually this phenomenon happens more quickly if the baby is carried upright, which is good to do from time to time, especially after meals, and placed on the tummy from a very young age. The ability to hold the head with normal development is noted by the age of three months. Many pediatricians have noticed that recently babies are already trying or successfully doing this even by two months. What can this fact say if this does not happen even on time and is it worth worrying about this? Consider the main stages of the formation of this skill.

How a skill is formed

When a baby is born, he does not know how to hold his head, because he still has an imperfect muscular and nervous system that regulates muscle function. Therefore, when caring for a newly born baby, while bathing and feeding, he definitely needs to support his head in order to prevent damage to the spine in the neck. If a child has such a phenomenon as the ability to hold his head for about a month, then this is not considered the norm. It should be shown to a doctor, as this symptom may indicate high cranial pressure.

After the umbilical wound has healed, which usually occurs at the latest by the third week of life, the baby must begin to be laid out on the stomach. This position awakens in him the desire to turn, and he will try to raise his head. The more often you put the baby on the tummy, the better his neck muscles will develop, which plays a major role in supporting the head.

Even if the baby resists lying on the tummy, you should still turn it over, but at the same time stroke it, distract it with conversation or interesting toys. It is best to do this before eating to prevent food from spitting up. The bodily contact of the baby with the mother is also important, his confidence that she is next to him.

Stages of formation

1. At about 1.5 months of age, the baby begins to slightly tense his head when he lies down and holds it in a slightly elevated position above a horizontal surface for about 60 seconds.

1. By 7-8 weeks, the first attempts to keep the head at the same level with the rest of the body can be seen.

1. Before the age of three months, the baby usually masters holding the head while lying on the stomach, or in an upright position if mom or dad picks him up. But not every toddler is capable of this for a long time, he needs to be watched so that at any moment you can make sure.

1. For about four months, the child raises not only his head, but also his shoulder girdle when he lies on his tummy, and actively explores the world around him.

1. By the age of five months, the baby usually not only confidently raises his head while lying on his stomach, but also turns it in different directions, examining all the objects and people around him.

Such stages of psychomotor development are approximately the same in all children, and may differ only slightly.

When problems arise

So, we found out at how many months the child holds his head on his own, but this does not always happen. The child does not hold his head at the age of three months for the following reasons:

• the baby has neurological problems or the birth, as a result of which he appeared, was very difficult;
• he has a reduced tone of myocytes, and a neurologist should be consulted on this issue, it is highly likely that massage and some exercises will usually not work, and in this case the child needs a special manual course, which can only be done by a specialist;

• mother incorrectly or infrequently laid the child on her tummy, and this led to the fact that he did not have time to strengthen the muscles of the neck;
• the child was born with low body weight, often this happens as a result of prematurity, or a disease;

When does a premature baby start holding his head? To resolve this issue, you need to contact a pediatrician and it may turn out that the problem is solved by introducing additional complementary foods or a mixture. If the reason is only a lack of weight, then after its normalization, the development of the child will be the same as that of his peers.

If suddenly the child raises his head, but only at an angle, you should go to a neurologist, in this case, most likely, he needs a special massage. Sometimes the doctor recommends using a special pad, it helps to solve alignment problems. In some cases, laying out the baby on different sides of the crib or playpen is used, this will allow him to change the viewing angle of objects, which will cause a different turn of the head and develop the neck muscles more evenly.

Any delay in the development of the child requires close attention from the mother and father. If any trouble is found, it is recommended to immediately go to the doctor and take all measures. If you start the pathological process, this can affect the entire future life of the baby. The question of how long a child should hold his head is decided on an individual basis in each case. But too much deviation from the norm requires close attention.

How to help

The main way to help a small person in strengthening the muscles of the neck is to lay out on the tummy. Pediatricians believe that this should be done immediately after the baby's umbilical wound is completely healed.

It is best to spread it while changing clothes, before eating or an hour and a half after it. The baby should be accustomed to this position gradually, starting from ten seconds. In order not to cause irritation or fear in him at this moment, you can put a toy next to him.

When children begin to hold their heads, a new stage in their development begins. Therefore, it is important to ensure that this happens on time.

In the first year of a child's life, parents watch with surprise and joy how rapidly he grows. But how to determine whether the baby is changing normally from month to month, is it lagging behind in development from its peers? Caring mothers and fathers want to know if their baby begins to hold his head, roll over, sit down in time. The answers to these questions are in our article. And here we had a simple infographic.

At what age do babies start holding their heads?

The ability to hold his head on his own is the first serious skill in controlling his own body that a baby learns. Approximately one and a half months, the child begins to raise his head from a prone position by about 45 degrees and keeps it in this position for a minute. From two months, you can already observe the first attempts of the baby to keep his head in an upright position. Normally, the baby begins to hold his head well for more than a minute when he is laid out on his stomach, by three months. Parents often askat what age do babies start sleeping on their stomachs? When the baby is one month old, he can be put to sleep on his tummy. In this position, the muscles of the back and neck are strengthened, the digestive organs work more efficiently, gases leave faster. Important: A baby sleeping on his stomach should be under constant supervision, and his bed should not have soft pillows and blankets that he can accidentally bury himself in.

After that, the umbilical wound will finally heal, lay the child on the stomach several times a day for 5-10 minutes.

Stimulate the baby's attention with rattles or musical toys, either showing them to the child, or removing them from his field of vision. Surely, the baby will react: raise and turn his head, make other active movements.

Place the baby on a fitball (large rubber ball) so that his head, chest, stomach and hips merge with the surface of the ball. Then, holding the baby by the waist, roll him back and forth, then pulling him towards you, then pushing him away from you.

Useful video: Daily massage for children 1-3 months.

At what age does the baby begin to roll over on his stomach and on his back?

The baby will learn to do the flip after the muscles of the neck and back are sufficiently strong. From about four months old, the baby makes the first attempts to roll over from his back to his stomach. By five months, he already confidently lies on his side and periodically turns over. The kid happily rolls over from his back to his stomach, lies like that for a long time, leaning on the surface with the palms of straightened arms. At about six months, a coup on the stomach and on the back becomes a common thing. Important: as soon as the child has learned to roll over, do not leave him unattended on the changing table or on the bed for a second, hold him when changing the diaper.

Lay the baby on your back. Throw one of his legs over the other so that the knee reaches the surface on which he lies. In such an uncomfortable position, the baby will try to roll over on his tummy.

The kid who lies on his back is interested in a toy. When the child reaches for it, put it on the side. When he tries to grab the toy and roll over onto his side, gently nudge him. Do the same when the child is lying on his stomach.

In mastering turns from back to stomach and back, a massage will help the baby, consisting of stroking the arms, legs, back with a change in the strength of touch.

How to teach a child to roll over

At what age do babies start sitting and sitting up?

At six months, the baby can usually sit with support, at seven months - without support, and at eight months - he easily sits up on his own and can lie down from this position. You can plant a child when he knows how to roll over from his stomach to his back and vice versa. Do not rush things, creating additional support for the baby and holding it with pillows. The baby will sit on his own when his muscles get stronger.

In the supine position, holding the legs, pull the child up by one, then by the other, then by both arms - in this way he shakes the abdominal press.

Fasten small rings or a crossbar at the level of the baby’s chest, he will be happy to reach for this simulator, grab it and hold it with his hands.

Pressing the child to your back, tilt him forward, let him bend down and try to pull himself up to the starting position. To do this, you can hold a toy over his head. This will help strengthen your back muscles.

Dr. Komarovsky about early sitting

Tatyana Petulko