A newborn is born with a minimum number of basic skills, but within a year there is a rapid leap in physical and mental development. One of the first questions that parents have when their child begins to hold his head up on his own.
One of the important things a baby should learn is to hold his head
When do babies start holding their heads up?
Children's skills are developed gradually, so that the newborn begins to hold his head, lay him on his stomach several times a day already on the 15th–20th day of life. During normal development, the baby tries to lift and turn its head. Boys always develop a little slower than girls.
At what months do babies begin to hold their heads up – developmental stages:
- At 6–7 weeks, the neck muscles become stronger, the baby raises his head and briefly fixes it in an elevated position.
- At the age of 2 months, infants already confidently begin to hold their heads in a horizontal position, and it is easy for them to turn their necks.
- Children begin to fully and independently hold their head lying on their stomach, back and in an upright position at 3–3.5 months. But for a three-month-old baby, frequent loads on the cervical spine are dangerous; you should not intentionally put extra strain on the child’s neck.
- At 4 months, the baby calmly lifts his upper body, placing emphasis on his forearms, and holds his head straight.
With normal development, already at 3.5 months the child can fully hold his head on his own
Important!
If a few days after birth the baby is laid on his stomach, he will immediately turn his head to the side - this triggers the self-preservation instinct; in this position the baby will not be able to suffocate.
Strengthening the neck muscles
You should start doing gymnastics with your child when he is one and a half months old. At first, the exercises should be done one time at a time, and then gradually increase. A small child has very delicate skin that is prone to irritation, and the muscles and ligaments are still weak, so gymnastics is more like a massage.
The following exercises are usually recommended to strengthen the neck muscles:
- Laying on the tummy . The exercise consists of placing the baby on a table with his stomach down and encouraging him to keep his head in an elevated position. The arms bent at the elbows lightly hold it on both sides with your hands and prevent it from turning over. You should start with a couple of minutes, gradually increasing the duration. Laying out is carried out before feeding; a prerequisite is the child’s good mood. During the exercise, you should speak kindly to your baby.
- Head turns . The child lies on his stomach. An adult approaches him first from one side and shakes the rattle, encouraging the baby to turn his head, and then from the opposite side. Curiosity forces the child to turn his head towards the source of the sound.
- Sitting down . Pull the baby’s outstretched arms from the “lying on his back” position. In this case, you need to make sure that the child’s head does not fall back.
Read: When can you start sitting down your children?
Massage for a baby up to 3 months
For massage, stroking and short circular rubbing are used. Before performing a massage, you should make sure that the room is warm enough (not lower than 22 degrees).
A set of exercises for kids
- Stroke the arms from the hands to the shoulders.
- Then lightly rub your chest with your palm from the middle to the sides.
- After that, the baby is placed on his stomach, and a folded diaper is placed under the chest.
- Stroke the back with the palms of both hands from the neck down and then in the opposite direction, paying special attention to the neck muscles.
- The baby gets tired quickly, and you should stop the massage when he shows dissatisfaction.
Since the main cause of the problem, when a child begins to hold his head later than the established norm, is his poor physical development, as much attention as possible should be paid to activities with the baby.
How do you know if a skill is developing correctly?
The norms for the development of children are quite arbitrary, but if the baby does not hold his head up at all at 3-4 months, or does it unsurely or incorrectly, consult a specialist.
How to determine that the neck muscles are developing correctly:
- Place the baby on his back, gently pull him towards you by both arms.
- Normally, an infant in a half-sitting position holds his head up straight, slight deviations to one side are allowed, and the neck muscles are tense.
- Return the child to the starting position, lift it slightly - the body should make an angle of 45 degrees with the horizontal surface. In this position, infants should keep their head in line with their back for at least 2 seconds.
Checking the child’s condition and skills
With normal development, such a test does not cause difficulties, children behave calmly.
To ensure that the neck muscles develop properly, place the baby to sleep on its side and periodically change the position of the head.
Among the laggards - when to see a doctor
The alarm should be sounded if at 3 months the baby cannot and does not try to hold his head. You shouldn’t even try to cope with such a problem yourself; the ways to identify a hitch in development and cope with it are very individual. Only a competent specialist can advise them.
Possible reasons why a child does not hold his head up at three months of age or the skill appeared too late:
- difficult/pathological childbirth;
- low muscle tone;
- prematurity;
- underweight
For proper physical development of the baby, you need to work with him, devoting time daily for gymnastics and light massage. Even if the baby protests against manipulation, parents need to be patient and persistent. Carry your child in an upright position, place him often on his tummy, practice - and the young explorer will become better and better at raising his head.
Why doesn't the child hold his head up on his own?
If a baby does not hold his head well and constantly tilts it to one side, this is due to dysfunction of the neck muscles - there are many diseases that interfere with the normal functioning of the muscles.
Causes:
- hypoxia during pregnancy, prolonged labor - due to a lack of oxygen, brain cells are affected and muscle tissue is destroyed;
- premature baby - such children are always slightly behind in development, but with proper care they gradually catch up with their peers;
- low or high muscle tone;
- unbalanced diet of mothers and infants receive all nutrients from mother's milk; if they are deficient or malnourished, physical development slows down;
- birth injuries and intrauterine muscle pathologies contribute to the development of congenital muscular torticollis - the baby’s head is constantly slightly tilted, facial asymmetry and psychomotor abnormalities are observed.
Birth injuries in an infant can cause torticollis
Important!
If a child begins to hold his head up at 4 weeks or even earlier, this may indicate an increase in intracranial pressure, which is extremely dangerous for infants; a similar symptom also occurs with muscle hypertonicity.
Should you be happy if your baby started holding his head up earlier?
There are situations in which parents are happy when the child begins to hold his head up on his own ahead of schedule. But such an event is not at all a reason for joy and fun. If at one month of age the baby raises his head and holds it without outside help, then this is a reason to contact a neurologist . This happens with increased intracranial pressure.
Important! Parents should not ignore this problem. High blood pressure can occur due to a long labor in the mother, fetal hypoxia, various diseases, etc.
Which doctor should I contact for help?
If the child is over 3 months old and cannot hold his head up, contact your pediatrician or family doctor. After the examination, if signs of developmental abnormalities are detected, the specialist will give a referral to a pediatric neurologist; if torticollis is suspected, an orthopedist will provide treatment.
Be sure to visit a doctor if the muscle tone is too weak, the baby’s head is at the wrong angle, the baby does not even make attempts to turn his head on his own, has little interest in what is happening around him, and there is constant lethargy and apathy.
How to speed up the development process
There is no special wisdom in this. Everything that mothers, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers did with babies was dictated by centuries of experience and common sense: laying them on their stomachs, carrying them in their arms, holding their neck and head, holding a bicycle with their legs with the help of their mother, and even toys hanging over the crib.
At the end of the first month of life, the time comes when the baby can hold his head up. And don’t think that if he is already trying to do this, then, as they write on some sites, he has high intracranial pressure. Just intrauterine development, normal nutrition, and exercise helped strengthen the muscles that are responsible for this. After all, when a baby tries to walk at 10 months, no one puts forward the theory that he has hyperfunction of his organs.
You can help your baby develop during this period by:
- Place the baby on a flat and hard surface starting from 2 weeks for 2 minutes, gradually increasing the duration. Keep a close eye on him while doing this.
- Carry out a light relaxing massage of the body, legs, back, abdomen, neck in the morning and evening. If you have no experience, it’s a good idea to watch a video or consult a specialist.
- Bath frequently, while providing some freedom of movement of the limbs, but fixing the head, special circles on the neck will help with this.
- Engage in physical exercise when the baby is active (but not immediately after eating). The set of exercises should be aimed at activating different muscles of the baby.
- Carry in your arms in a vertical and horizontal position, holding your head so that the baby can look at the world around him, and at the same time train his neck muscles.
- Hang toys above the crib, lowering them during activity, so that the visual, auditory, and grasping reflex develops, but also play with him with musical toys that make different sounds. A good effect from this is guaranteed. Various musical modules that can be hung above the crib will help you with this.
Is it easier to put the baby in the crib on his back and go about his business? Well, then by 4–6 months he will master this science on his own. A child is a kind of base: the more you invest in him, the more you get.
How to teach a child to hold his head up?
In order for the baby to begin to hold his head up, parents need to do gymnastics with the baby every day and do massage.
Do regular gymnastic exercises
After identifying the causes of cephalic incontinence, treatment is prescribed - physiotherapy, medications to accelerate the development process, supplements and mixtures to replenish nutritional deficiencies, and eliminate weight loss.
Exercises for holding your head
Perform all exercises regularly, preferably at the same time, do not expect instant results, but do not despair - sooner or later your hard work will be rewarded, the child will begin to hold his head confidently.
- Every day for a few minutes, lay the child down on his stomach, place bright, interesting toys nearby that attract attention - the baby, out of curiosity, will try to look at them, will begin to raise his head, stretch his neck. Exercise 15–20 minutes before each feeding.
- When the newborn is 2 months old, hold him upright, gently hold his neck, remove your hand for a few seconds so that the baby can hold his head on his own. Repeat the exercise after eating - this will help avoid regurgitation.
- Place one palm under the baby's chest, the other under the hips, carefully lift and lower the baby.
- Place the baby on his stomach, place a small soft cushion under the chest - this position causes discomfort, the baby begins to raise his head.
- Place the child on his back, attract attention with a bright rattle, then move the toy in different directions - this task strengthens the neck muscles well.
- Place the baby on the fitball with his stomach down, slowly move the ball back and forth - the baby’s head will lower and rise.
Nutrition
To avoid problems in physical development, mothers should carefully plan their diet; any diets are contraindicated. The basis of the menu is lean boiled meat, natural dairy products, cereals, vegetables and fruits.
A nursing mother should have honey and nuts in her diet
If the baby does not have allergies, eat honey and nuts - these products make milk more nutritious. For artificials, choose high-quality balanced mixtures.
Help your baby learn to hold his head up
If the doctor’s examination did not reveal any pathologies, the specialist said that the baby’s nervous system is working as it should and he did not have a birth injury, it is worth remembering how often you lay the baby on his tummy.
In the first months of a child's life, parents should devote time to simple physical exercises for his development.
The pediatrician will recommend what exactly needs to be done to help the baby. You can put your baby on his stomach from the age of three weeks - the umbilical wound should heal. The baby will train his neck muscles by lifting his head and turning it to the side to avoid suffocation. The child may react negatively to the position on his stomach - he will immediately try to roll over back, cry and be capricious. Parents should be understanding. After all, they are doing this for his own good. The more often they feel sorry for the baby and the less often they put him on his tummy, the worse they make him. In the future, it may result in muscle hypotonia or the doctor diagnoses a delay in physical development in the baby.
Following the recommendations of doctors, begin to correct the tone of the baby’s neck muscles as early as possible, while the musculoskeletal system is actively developing. A late visit to a specialist can lead to inevitable long-term treatment.
Physiology of child development.
The baby’s motor skills are formed gradually, in accordance with the “maturation” of different muscle groups. A baby is born with formed muscle groups associated with unconscious acts: muscles involved in the breathing process and those responsible for the sucking reflex. This is necessary to ensure the life of newborns, even premature ones. The muscles of the shoulder girdle and upper limbs strengthen more slowly. At 6 months, the muscle tissue of the back will be formed and only by the year will the legs be fully strengthened.
Important!!! There are many vessels passing through the canals of the spine. They provide nutrition to the baby's brain. When performing any manipulations with a newborn, it is important to avoid bending his neck so as not to cause pinching and, accordingly, vasospasm.
