The child starts in his sleep and wakes up: reasons, Moro reflex, with fever

Baby's physiological reflexes

When your doctor checks your baby monthly, he will, among other things, check for normal baby reflexes, including the presence of the Moro reflex. This is an important sign of a normal and developing nervous system in a newborn. Typically, parents do not pay attention to the Moro reflex until it wakes the child in the middle of sleep and problems with going to bed and waking up begin.

Important

All newborns are born with a number of normal infant reflexes. The Moro reflex, also known as the startle reflex, is one of them. Perhaps the parents noticed that the child suddenly “startled” during sleep. This is the triggering of this particular reflex.

Reflex definition: A reflexive reaction of infants to a startle (such as a loud noise or bright light) that is characterized by flinching, stretching their arms and legs away from the body and to the side, and then bringing them closer together, as if wrapping their arms around their body. When the Moro reflex is evoked, the child experiences a two-phase reaction:

Phase 1 - The baby will experience what is best described as a free-falling sensation as the baby flinches, raising and extending its arms. He may even let out a sharp sigh.
Phase 2 - The baby will curl his arms and legs closer to his body into a fetal position.

It is impossible to prevent the occurrence of the Moro reflex; moreover, it must be induced, since this shows that his nervous system is developing correctly. However, this can be especially troublesome during sleep, as the startle can wake the baby from a sound sleep.

When and why does a baby's fear arise?

Fear of loud sounds manifests itself in almost all children at an early stage of their development (development from birth to one year). A mother may notice that a two- to three-month-old baby is frightened by laughter, the hum of a working vacuum cleaner, loud conversation and other sharp sounds. The child may flinch at annoying noises or cry and become hysterical.

Why is a child still afraid (or just starting to be afraid) of loud noise/sounds? Almost all infants' fears are inherent in nature itself. The exception is the fear of a specific event the baby has experienced, for example, the fear of water after an unsuccessful bath. The reason for the fear of loud sounds is not due to improper upbringing of the child or due to parental oversight. This is a reaction of the baby’s naturally developing nervous system. Similar fears of a child include the fear of being left without a mother, fear of strangers.

Fear of noise and sharp sounds is most often observed in children for a short time. This fear can persist for up to a year or two years. If a child continues to be afraid after this age, perhaps his nervous system has problems that require consultation with a specialist. How strongly and for how long a baby experiences a feeling of fear when making noise depends on the behavior of his parents.

What should parents do?

Mom and dad often cannot understand what to do if the baby is afraid. Some parents are capable of yelling at their child or even spanking him. However, with a baby under one year old, such behavior is not acceptable; it can only worsen the situation and turn it into a real problem for the child in the future.

To calm the baby and gradually rid him of the fear of loud sounds, parents should:

Talk to your child more often calmly and affectionately, using constant intonation and strength of voice. It’s good if the baby can hear men’s voices: this way he will quickly learn to perceive the baritone that is unusual for him;
upon hearing a sharp or loud sound or noise, behave as usual, do not jump up or scream, otherwise the child will consider that there is really a danger;
sometimes play beautiful melodic music for the baby;
Show the baby the source of the sound that frightened him. For example, together look at a humming vacuum cleaner ( we read that a child is afraid of a vacuum cleaner - what to do?), let him hold a ringing phone, look out the window at a honking car;
teach your child to make different sounds: quiet and loud. Once carried away by a new activity, the baby will begin to react more calmly to external noise;
calm and relax the baby by singing quiet songs to him;
Do not remain absolutely silent while your child is sleeping. It is better if he falls asleep in an environment of quiet sounds: with the TV on or a calm conversation. In this case, a sudden break in the silence, for example, a doorbell, will not scare or even wake up the baby;
When a child is constantly afraid of loud sounds, throws a tantrum every time there is a sudden noise, and has trouble calming down, he needs to be shown to a neurologist. A timely visit to this pediatric specialist will help identify disturbances in the functioning of the baby’s nervous system and find a way to calm him down. Along with a doctor's prescription, you can use daily baths with a soothing mixture.

Watch a video on the topic:

For a baby who is afraid of loud and sudden noise, the most important thing is calm parents and a favorable atmosphere in the family. Adults should understand that such a problem in children under 12 months is not uncommon; it does not indicate a deviation or disorder in the child’s development. In order for the baby to quickly get used to the noisy world, it is important to surround him with smiles, affectionate glances, quiet songs and calm speech.

READ ALSO: Why is a child afraid to walk?

Triggers of the Moro reflex

The Moro reflex is triggered by any sudden change in sensory stimulation. There are many such triggers, but the most common are:

Loud noise.
Sudden touch.
Sudden change in light intensity.
Any event that throws the baby off balance, such as a change in height (when placed in a crib, for example, from a bath).
Changing the direction of movement of the child's body.

Some of these triggers may be so minor that parents will not notice them. However, for a baby who is still used to living in the womb, even the smallest changes can trigger this innate reflex.

How long does the Moro reflex last?

The Moro reflex is most pronounced in newborns. But the reactions of flinching and throwing up the arms gradually decrease and, as a rule, completely disappear by 5 or 6 months. The child's muscles become stronger, movements become more coordinated and clear. There are natural stages of changes in a child’s behavior during sleep and activity:

From birth to 1 month. The Moro reflex is present at birth. A young child needs help from parents to cope with new stimuli from the outside world. Swaddling provides comfort and reduces flinching and throwing of arms.
2-3 months. The child now sleeps much more calmly in his arms or in a crib. When awakened in the middle of sleep by the Moro reflex, if the baby is sleeping in a swaddle, holding the arms and legs will help him quickly fall back to sleep.
4-6 months. The baby is getting stronger. The Moro Reflex begins to fade and disappears at 5-6 months. At this time, you can stop swaddling and switch to sleeping under a sheet or in clothes.

So, to summarize, the Moro Reflex begins at birth and ends at 4-6 months. This, by the way, happens around the same time that the baby becomes strong enough to roll over. So a good practice is to start swaddling at birth and finish around 4-6 months.

Features of hearing in newborns

The hearing aid begins to form in the mother's womb - starting from the third trimester of pregnancy, the fetus can listen to surrounding sounds and gradually learns to recognize the mother's voice. But the newborn’s ear is not fully formed: for example, in the first days of life, the baby perceives mainly strong auditory stimuli, high tones.

The ability to distinguish low frequencies appears at 2-3 months - then the baby reacts more actively to sound stimuli and flinches from sudden sounds. If your child has a pronounced reaction to pops or falling objects, most likely his hearing is developing normally.

At 4-6 months, children learn to correlate sound with the source of its reproduction: they turn their heads at their parents reading a fairy tale, look at musical toys.

At 9 months, the baby recognizes the voices of close people and tries to imitate various sounds (begins to coo, for example). But this only happens if hearing develops normally.

If there is hearing impairment from the first days of life, the baby is deprived of one of the channels of interaction with the outside world. The first two years are the most important for the formation of the functions of the cerebral cortex: speech, cognitive and emotional skills. If a newborn suffers from partial hearing loss or deafness, it is important to find out its cause as early as possible and try to compensate for the impairment in order to allow the child to fully develop.

The difficulty is that in the first days of a baby’s life, parents may not notice his hearing problems. A newborn reacts to visual stimuli: light, movement, and adults think that everything is in order. Only an experienced pediatric otolaryngologist can give a competent assessment of a baby’s hearing system.

How to calm a child who flinches in his sleep?

In the first months, the newborn baby is still getting used to the outside world, which is very different from the cramped space inside the womb. Therefore, if he experiences the Moro reflex, starts and moves, you should try to bring the child's outstretched arms and legs closer to his body and hold them in place until he calms down and falls asleep. Swaddling limits your baby's movements and helps secure his arms and legs. Swaddling also helps recreate the womb environment, which can help soothe babies, helping them sleep better and more restfully.

This is why swaddling is practiced all over the world as a common way to calm babies. For those who may not know, swaddling is the act of wrapping a baby in swaddling clothes and securing the arms and legs. Swaddling works best to calm the Moro reflex if it is introduced at birth. Consistently incorporating swaddling into your bedtime routine will help create an association between being swaddled and going to bed.

Why does the Moro reflex and startle occur?

The innate Moro reflex is present to protect the newborn during the early stages of development. Since the newborn is not yet aware of cause and effect, this reflex acts as an alarm signal that goes off when the baby receives excessive or sudden sensory input. The first response phase (as described in the previous section) helps the child respond to unpleasant stimuli. The second stage helps him cling to something nearby, in many cases the mother's body, as a way to protect himself from falling.

note

Experts believe the Moro reflex evolved to keep babies close to their mothers and prevent them from falling. If a child cries from fear, you need to hold him close to you more often or swaddle him.

When a child is afraid of loud noises

After the baby is 2-3 months old, some mothers begin to notice that the child flinches at sharp, loud sounds. He is frightened not only by screams and the noise of a vacuum cleaner, but even by wind-up toys, coughing, and the sound of a flying airplane. Often the fear is not limited to shuddering, the baby becomes hysterical and cries.

Adults can correct the situation with a calm voice and gentle movements. The mother presses the crying baby to her chest, strokes his back and talks to him tenderly, explaining the nature of what frightened him. Older children who are afraid of, for example, a vacuum cleaner can be warned in advance, then the noise will not come as a surprise and will not frighten the child so much.

When a child on a walk gets scared of something unknown that he sees for the first time, he needs to be shown the reason for the fear. Take the child out of the elite silver cross balmoral stroller or any other, hold him close, calm him down and together examine the reason for the tears. Whenever possible, it is advisable to protect children who are afraid of loud noises from sources of fear.

Overly excitable children who throw a tantrum at any sudden sounds and are difficult to calm down need to consult a neurologist. Parents should not consider a referral to this doctor as a challenge and a hint that their child is mentally “abnormal.” Contacting him will help you better understand the structure of the baby’s nervous system, the doctor will tell you how to smooth out the excited state of the little one. Perhaps the correct daily routine, a bath with a soothing mixture and mother’s lullaby at night will be enough to make the little one more calmly perceive the surrounding sounds.

If a child is afraid of loud sounds, parents should not panic; such a phobia is not uncommon in babies under one year old. A calm, kind word, a mother’s smile, a conversation will help the little one survive a difficult period and get used to the noisy world of adults.

Anastasia Ilchenko

A child in the first month of life sleeps quite soundly both at night and during the day: his sleep is not disturbed by loud sounds, speech, or background noise. However, from the second month of the baby’s life the situation can change dramatically. Some kids begin to be afraid of the phone ringing, flinch from the buzzing of the coffee grinder, or cry when they hear the singing of a wind-up toy. Parents, realizing that their child is afraid of loud sounds, cannot find out the reason for this and do not know what to do.

Other reasons for a child to startle in his sleep

The causes of startles during sleep can be the baby's transition from one phase of sleep to another. Typically, muscle twitches, eye movements and sounds occur during REM sleep. Babies dream, and their body reacts to this with motor acts. This is typical for children in the first months of life, until the routine is definitely established. After three years, such problems usually disappear.

Restlessness and shaking during sleep are typical of colic or teething. Thus, children react to pain impulses. It is important to eliminate any irritants to normalize sleep.

Loud sounds and noise can frighten a child, so it is important to create a calm environment, but do not teach your child to sleep in perfect silence. Excessive heat and uncomfortable posture, as well as a feeling of insecurity, may have an effect.

Why is a child afraid of loud noises?

Most fears in babies under one year of age are instinctive, that is, they are inherent in nature and are not a consequence of an incident the child has experienced. There are exceptions, of course, and these include, for example, a fear of water caused by an unsuccessful bath. When a 7-month-old child is afraid of loud sounds, the reason is not due to improper upbringing or oversight on the part of the parents, but to the normal developing nervous system of the baby. In addition to sounds, a child of the first year may be afraid when his mother is not around, and of strangers. Phobias gradually pass: some disappear without a trace by the end of the first year, others remain up to three years. Rarely, fear of strangers and loud noises persists until 5-6 years of age; in such cases, parents consult doctors.

Pathological causes of flinching

Periodic, repeated shuddering and jumping up with crying and impaired muscle tone are signs of pathologies. With such complaints you should consult a doctor. The causes may be metabolic disorders and metabolic disorders of the nervous system with the formation of convulsions and muscle spasms. This is possible with irrational feeding with a deficiency or excess of certain substances - lack of calcium and vitamin D with the development of rickets, disruption of the parathyroid glands with the provocation of spasmophilia.

Poor sleep and trembling are possible with increased intracranial pressure, which is formed due to birth injuries or congenital abnormalities of the brain structure.

Sharp shudders are typical of increased nervous excitability. This happens with hypoxia during childbirth or in utero, after an injury.

Alena Paretskaya, pediatrician, medical columnist

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