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1. Keeping-safe reflexes: These protective reflexes help prevent
accidental injury. (Most are so important they continue to work in
adults.)
Crying—Crying, the “mother” of all baby safety reflexes,
can be triggered by any sudden distress and is extraordinarily
effective at getting your attention.

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Sneezing—Your newborn’s sneeze usually isn’t a sign of a
cold; rather, it’s a response to irritating dust and mucous his
body is trying to rid from the nose.
2. Getting-a-meal reflexes: Even though no food ever passed your
fetus’s lips, from the moment of birth he was ready to receive and
enjoy your milk.
Rooting—When you touch your baby’s cheek or lips, his
face will turn toward the touch and his mouth will open and
then shut. This reflex helps your baby locate and grasp your
nipple, even in the dark. But don’t worry if you stroke your
baby’s cheek and he doesn’t respond. This is a smart reflex:
It’s not there until he’s hungry. That’s why the rooting reflex
is a great way for you to tell if your baby is crying because he
wants to eat. If you touch his mouth and he doesn’t root, he
probably is not crying for food.
Sucking—Your baby practiced this complex reflex even
before birth. Many parents have ultrasound photos of their
little cuties sucking their thumbs, weeks before delivery.
3. Fetal and leftover reflexes: These reflexes either help our
fetuses before they are born or were useful only to our distant
animal ancestors.
Step—Holding your baby upright, let the sole of one foot
press onto a flat surface. In a few seconds, that leg will
straighten and the other will bend. This reflex helps babies
move around a little during the last months of pregnancy,
thus helping to prevent pressure sores and getting the fetus
into position for delivery.
Grasping—If you press your finger into the base of your
baby’s toes or fingers, he will grab on tightly, even when he’s
sleeping. This reflex is critically important for newborn apes!
It helps them cling to their mother’s fur while she’s moving
through the jungle. (Be careful. It works on dads with hairy
chests too!)
The Moro reflex—This extremely important leftover reflex
protected our ancient relatives carrying their babies through
the trees. It’s the “I’m falling” reflex activated the second

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your baby gets startled (by a jolt, loud noise, or a dream).
The Moro reflex makes your baby’s arms shoot out and
around, as if he’s trying to grab hold of you. This venerable
response probably kept countless baby monkeys from falling
out of their mother’s arms. (Adults who fall asleep in a chair
and whose heads suddenly drop back may also experience
this reflex.)
As your baby matures his newborn reflexes will gradually get packed
away and forgotten, like tattered old teddy bears. However, at the
beginning of life, these invaluable responses are some of the best baby
gifts a mother could ever hope for.
There is one more built-in, newborn response that parents in my
practice think is the most wonderful reflex of all: the calming reflex.