Moro Reflex Video Summary

There is a stunning amount of psychical, cognitive, and socioemotional growth that occurs between birth and the first two years of life. Some concepts that are particularly fascinating are the concepts of reflexes in newborns. Reflex’s, as described in the textbook, are typical reactions to stimuli that all humans are born with (Santrock, 2013, p. 117). These reflexes include the rooting reflex, the sucking reflex, the Moro reflex, and the grasping reflex.
Some reflexes are immediately tested by doctors at birth to insure the newborns health. The video I watched, in part, displayed nurses testing the rooting, sucking and Moro reflexes of newborns in a hospital setting. The rooting reflex occurs when an infant turns its head to find something to suck in response to the stimuli of being touched, and the sucking reflex refers to an infant’s automatic response to suck on an object near its mouth (Santrock, 2013, p. 118). The video displayed the gloved hand of a nurse gently stroking the side of a newborns cheek, and in response, showed the child turn its head and begin sucking on the nurse’s finger (GRCCtv, 2012). This is a clear example of both the rooting reflex and the sucking reflex. And suggests that the child has good reflexes and is in good
The Moro reflex, as stated in the text, is triggered when an infant is startled and involves the infant arching it’s back, flailing out its arms and legs and throwing its head backwards (Santrock, 2013, p. 118). In the video, a gloved individual lightly grabbed the newborns hands and lifted the infant slightly in the air and then abruptly let go of the child (GRCCtv, 2012). Assumingly, this startled the child because in response the child firstly extended its limbs and simultaneously threw back its head before seemingly hugging itself by bringing its arms and legs toward the center of its body (GRCCtv,