For a newborn child, it is very important for the constant presence of parents in his life and control over his mental and physical states. If a mother notices even a slight deviation from the norm, then it is best for her to consult a doctor, without listening to the advice of others and without relying on the experience of mothers she knows.
The ability to hold the head is one of the very first signs of competent development of the baby. Thus, he makes the first movements on the path to mastering his own body.
Average development time
Even in the maternity hospital, nurses warn mothers that the baby’s head must always be carefully held. The child does not support his head on his own, and if the body moves suddenly without the support of the head, not only the ligaments of the neck, but also the cervical vertebrae can be damaged.
Two or three weeks after the birth hospital, lying on his stomach, the baby tries to raise his head for a few seconds. He still cannot hold her on his own.
These weak attempts are a kind of training for the baby, strengthening the muscles of his neck. Pediatricians recommend that newborns be placed on their stomachs before feeding in order to prevent colic and belching.
At 2 months, the baby holds his head more confidently. He looks around with interest, holding his head for about a minute. At what months does a child begin to hold his head confidently?
At three months, most babies hold their head up confidently. This does not mean that support for fragile neck muscles is no longer needed. When walking in a sling, the head should rest on support, because it is still difficult for the baby to keep his head level for a long time.
How to help your child learn to hold his head up
In order to promptly help the baby learn to hold his head or bring this moment closer, parents should begin to help the baby. The methods that our grandmothers used are suitable for this. You just need to follow a number of rules and regularly do some exercises with your baby.
First, you need to make it a rule that after feeding you should never put your baby on his tummy. Mom should do this a few minutes before feeding. It is recommended that the baby remain in this position for several minutes. As you get older, you can begin to place your baby on his tummy more and more often between feedings.
There is another exercise that speeds up the process of strengthening the baby’s neck muscles. It can be placed head down on the tummy, while holding the head. He will look mostly at the floor. Since all babies are very inquisitive, he will begin to look for ways to look at the objects around him and will begin to raise his head.
After the mother and baby have successfully mastered this exercise, they can try holding the baby in their arms, lifting it, in an upright position for ten to twenty seconds. In this case, the baby must be carefully held by the back of the head during this procedure.
What to do if the deadlines do not match
It happens that a newborn holds his head prematurely. Some babies are already trying to do this as early as a month. But such behavior is not considered a sign of early development. The reason that a baby holds his head at the age of a month may be increased intracranial pressure.
You need to inform your local pediatrician, she will refer you to a neurologist who will prescribe treatment. You may need medications, therapeutic massage courses, relaxing baths. Timely treatment will help avoid many problems in the future.
There may be several reasons for a delay in the development of head holding skills:
- decreased muscle tone;
- underweight;
- problematic childbirth;
- prematurity.
Contacting a specialist on time will help in all cases to solve the problem with the best result. The pediatrician will prescribe courses of therapeutic massage, which will help increase muscle tone and have a beneficial effect on the development of the baby.
A breastfeeding specialist will help solve the problem of underweight by advising which complementary foods to introduce to the baby.
To improve blood supply to muscle and nervous tissue, a neurologist may prescribe Actovegin or other medications.
If the baby always tilts his head to one side, this should alert the parents. Such a deviation cannot be ignored.
It is clearly noticeable already at two months, when the newborn begins to hold his head straight; it will always be turned to one side. Torticollis can be a congenital or acquired problem. If treatment is not started on time, after two years the child may need surgery.
To correct this problem, a neurologist can also prescribe courses of therapeutic massage and drug therapy. He will advise you on what special exercises to do at home to correct torticollis.
Why does a child not hold his head confidently at 4 months and how to teach
There are several reasons that provoke a delay in the development of a skill. These include:
- pathological and premature birth;
- hypotonicity of the neck muscles;
- birth with low body weight and constant underweight;
- neurological problems in the child;
- tight swaddling;
- overprotection, as a result of which the baby becomes completely tame and helpless.
If a child, born as a result of a normal term birth and developing in accordance with all generally accepted norms, for some reason cannot confidently hold his head up by 3-4 months, then this is not a reason to panic.
However, you still need to be concerned by showing the baby to specialists. And if they give the go-ahead, then you can try to stimulate this skill, bringing its full development as close as possible, because it is possible that the baby just needs a little push from the outside.
Gymnastics
Any therapy becomes most effective if it is carried out comprehensively. And therapeutic exercises to speed up the child’s raising and holding the head are no exception to the rule.
The simplest, but no less effective exercise comes down to lifting the baby by the arms from a position lying on his back, which is carried out until his head begins to throw back, after which it is necessary to return him to his original position. And usually a few of these approaches a day are enough to speed up the acquisition of the skill.
See also:
Formation of newborn reflexes - table by month and detailed description
Massage
One of the most effective techniques is to regularly massage the cervical region, which is best left to professionals, so as not to provoke the development of neck muscle tone and, as a result, not to worsen the situation. Typically, such procedures are carried out in several courses with a mandatory break to monitor positive dynamics.
Massage for a newborn baby is beneficial from the first weeks of birth
Games
What kid doesn't love to play? And it would be a sin for parents not to take advantage of this interest to conduct correctional therapy. To do this, you need to take some bright object or toy and bring it to the baby lying on his back.
The next stage involves carefully lifting his head until the baby sees the toy. And as soon as you feel the independent movement of the head, you should immediately lower it back onto the pillow, repeating the exercise several more times with a mandatory break.
See also:
What a child should be able to do at 3 months (boy and girl) - exact table
