Stepping Reflex - Preg Med

What is the stepping reflex?

Newborn infants move their legs as if to walk, when they are held upright with their feet almost touching a hard surface. This is known as the stepping, walking or dancing reflex ^{[1, 2]}.

How long do babies have the walking reflex?

It is an important infantile reflex that is present at birth, gradually disappearing when the baby reaches 2-3 months of age. So, it occurs long before the baby can actually attempt to walk ^[3]. In fact, this primitive reflex starts developing when your baby is still a fetus within your womb ^[8].

Some babies may retain the reflex for a longer time, while it may reappear in some around 10-12 months, before it is time to start walking.

Why do infants have the stepping reflex?

Experts believe the purpose of the stepping reflex to be to help in proper development of the leg muscles and movement, so it gets easier for the baby to learn to walk when the time comes ^{[4, 5]}.

What does it mean when the stepping reflex is not present?

Like most other reflexes, an absent stepping reflex may indicate a motor nerve defect or some neurological malformation present at birth ^[6].

Sometimes, the stepping reflex may seem to be absent in a baby, but he may start moving his legs in a ‘walking’ movement when he is held upright, waist-deep in a water-tank ^[7].

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