The Short Answer
Your baby is born with a set of automatic movements that fade on a fairly predictable schedule: most newborn reflexes disappear between 2 and 7 months of age. These built-in responses, from the dramatic Moro startle to the sweet finger grip, are signs of a healthy nervous system, and your pediatrician checks them at every early visit.
Key takeaways:
- The Moro (startle) and stepping reflexes fade around 2 months, rooting around 4 months, palmar grasp at 5–6 months, and tonic neck at 5–7 months, per the AAP.
- The Babinski toe-fanning response is the slowpoke: normal up to 2 years, according to the NIH.
- Reflexes should be equally strong on both sides of the body. A one-sided response is worth a call to your pediatrician.
- A reflex that lingers well past its window can signal a nervous system issue, so mention it at a checkup.
- Fading reflexes are good news. They clear the way for voluntary skills like reaching, grabbing, and eventually walking.
The 7 Classic Newborn Reflexes at a Glance
Not every baby gains and loses these reflexes on exactly the same day, but the AAP's timetable gives you a reliable frame:
| Reflex | What triggers it | What you'll see | Typically gone by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moro (startle) | Loud sound or sudden shift in head position | Arms and legs fling out, then pull back in; sometimes crying | 2 months |
| Rooting | Stroke on the cheek or corner of the mouth | Head turns toward the touch, mouth opens | 4 months |
| Sucking | Touch on the roof of the mouth | Rhythmic sucking | Becomes voluntary over the first months |
| Palmar grasp | Finger or object pressed into the palm | Fingers close in a surprisingly strong grip | 5–6 months |
| Tonic neck (fencing) | Head turned to one side while lying on the back | Arm on that side straightens, opposite arm bends | 5–7 months |
| Stepping | Held upright with feet touching a firm surface | Places one foot in front of the other | 2 months |
| Babinski | Firm stroke along the sole of the foot | Big toe bends back, other toes fan out | 12 months to 2 years |
Most newborn reflexes disappear between 2 and 7 months of age; the Babinski response can normally last up to 2 years.
Moro Reflex: The Big Startle
The Moro reflex is the one parents notice first, usually because it wakes the baby. A loud noise, a sudden movement, or even the baby's own cry sets it off: the head tips back, arms and legs shoot outward, and then everything pulls back in, often with tears. The AAP notes the Moro reflex peaks during the first month and starts to fade after about 2 months.
Two practical points:
- It should look the same on both sides. The AAP advises telling your pediatrician if the response seems stronger on one side, or if your baby moves one side of the body better than the other.
- It disrupts sleep. Those flailing arms jolt many newborns awake mid-nap. A snug, safe swaddle softens the startle for some babies in the early weeks. Stop swaddling as soon as your baby shows any signs of rolling.
Rooting and Sucking: The Feeding Reflexes
Stroke your newborn's cheek and watch the head turn toward your hand, mouth open and searching. That is rooting, and it exists for one reason: finding the breast or bottle. It fades around 4 months, by which point most babies simply turn their head to the food on purpose.
Sucking starts even earlier. Stanford Medicine Children's Health notes the sucking reflex begins around the 32nd week of pregnancy and is not fully developed until about 36 weeks, which is why premature babies sometimes have a weak or uncoordinated suck in the beginning. Coordinating sucking with breathing and swallowing takes practice for every baby, so a clumsy first week at the breast is normal. Our breastfeeding guide for the newborn weeks covers what a good latch looks like and when to ask for help.
The AAP points out that rooting, sucking, and bringing a hand to the mouth are your baby's main feeding cues in the first weeks. Later, once feeding is well established, the same movements become self-soothing: sucking on fingers, a thumb, or a pacifier. If you are weighing that last option, our pacifier guide walks through the benefits, drawbacks, and timing.
Grasp Reflexes: Fingers and Toes
Press a finger into your newborn's open palm and the little fingers wrap around and hold on. The grip tightens if you try to pull away. In the first days it is strong enough that a baby can nearly support their own weight, though the AAP is clear on this: never test it, because the grip can release without warning.
The palmar grasp fades at 5–6 months. A matching reflex in the feet, the plantar grasp that curls the toes when you stroke the sole, hangs on longer, until 9–12 months. As the reflexive grip disappears, deliberate reaching and grabbing take its place, one of the most satisfying trades of the first half-year. You can follow that handoff month by month in our guide to motor development in the first year.
Tonic Neck Reflex: The Tiny Fencer
Lay your baby on their back and turn the head gently to one side. The arm on that side straightens while the opposite arm bends at the elbow, a pose that looks exactly like a fencer's lunge. This is the tonic neck reflex, and it is subtle: if your baby is fussing or crying, you may never catch it in action. It disappears between 5 and 7 months.
Like the Moro, the tonic neck reflex should appear equally on both sides. Asymmetry here is one of the specific things pediatricians screen for.
Stepping Reflex: Walking Practice on Day One
Hold a newborn upright with feet touching a firm surface (supporting the head, always) and they will place one foot in front of the other in a slow-motion march. Babies obviously cannot bear their own weight yet; the reflex is choreography without strength. The AAP notes this same response helps a newborn crawl toward the breast when placed on the mother's abdomen right after delivery.
The stepping reflex disappears after about 2 months, then the motion returns near the end of the first year as genuine, learned walking. There is a wide normal range for that second act: the WHO's motor development windows treat anywhere from roughly 8 to 18 months as a typical age for first independent steps.
Babinski Reflex: The One That Sticks Around
Stroke firmly along the sole of your baby's foot and the big toe bends back toward the top of the foot while the other toes fan out. According to the NIH's MedlinePlus, the Babinski reflex is normal in children up to 2 years old and may disappear as early as 12 months.
This reflex has a second life in medicine: in adults, a Babinski response is not normal and can indicate a problem with the brain or spinal cord. That is why a doctor scraping the sole of a foot shows up in neurological exams at every age.
Why Do Pediatricians Check Newborn Reflexes?
Reflexes are a free, instant window into your baby's nervous system. MedlinePlus puts it plainly: the presence and strength of a reflex is an important sign of nervous system development and function. At the newborn exam, alongside the heel-prick and hearing tests covered in our newborn screening guide, your pediatrician will trigger several of these reflexes on purpose and watch three things:
- Presence. Each expected reflex should be there and reasonably strong.
- Symmetry. Responses should match on the left and right sides.
- Timing. At later checkups, reflexes should be fading on schedule to make room for voluntary movement.
That third point is the part parents can help with. You see your baby every day; the pediatrician sees them for minutes at a time. Noticing that the startle has calmed down or that the fists have relaxed into open, grabby hands is real data. Log those changes alongside rolling, smiling, and babbling in our milestone tracker, and you will have concrete notes to bring to each well visit. For context on which skills typically replace which reflexes, see our overview of baby development month by month.
When Should You Call Your Pediatrician?
Here is the honest assessment: variation is the rule, and a reflex that fades a few weeks early or late is usually nothing. The patterns below are the ones worth raising.
A reflex that is still present after the age when it would normally disappear can be a sign of a brain or nervous system problem, according to the NIH.
| If you notice... | What it can mean | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| A reflex that is clearly stronger on one side | Possible nerve or muscle issue | Call your pediatrician |
| Weak or absent rooting and sucking in the first days | Feeding difficulty, more common in preemies | Tell your delivery team or pediatrician right away |
| Moro or tonic neck still going strong well past 7 months | Possible delay in nervous system maturation | Bring it up at the next well visit, or call if it is your only visit for months |
| Baby seems unusually stiff or unusually floppy | Muscle tone concern | Call your pediatrician |
| Baby loses a skill they previously had | Regression, always worth evaluating | Call promptly |
If your worry is broader than reflexes, the CDC's milestone checklists give you a structured way to frame it; our explainer on the CDC milestone tracker covers how those age cutoffs actually work. And remember that reflexes are checked at every routine well visit in the first year, so a scheduled appointment is usually soon enough unless something is one-sided, sudden, or paired with other symptoms.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are newborn reflexes?
Newborn reflexes are involuntary movements babies are born with, such as rooting, sucking, grasping, and the Moro startle response. They are signs of a healthy developing nervous system, and most fade during the first year as voluntary skills take over.
When do newborn reflexes go away?
Most fade between 2 and 7 months. Moro and stepping disappear around 2 months, rooting around 4 months, palmar grasp at 5 to 6 months, and tonic neck at 5 to 7 months, per the AAP. The Babinski response can normally last up to 2 years.
What is the Moro reflex?
The Moro reflex is a newborn startle response. A loud sound or a sudden shift in head position makes the baby fling out both arms and legs, then pull them back in, sometimes with crying. The AAP notes it peaks in the first month and fades around 2 months.
Why do pediatricians check newborn reflexes?
Reflexes show how the nervous system is developing. Pediatricians confirm each reflex is present, equally strong on both sides, and fading on schedule. A missing, one-sided, or long-lasting reflex can point to a neurological issue that deserves a closer look.
What happens if a newborn reflex does not go away?
A reflex that persists well past its normal window can signal a brain or nervous system problem, according to the NIH. Bring it up at the next well visit, or call sooner if the baby also seems stiff, floppy, one-sided, or loses skills they previously had.
Is it normal for the Moro reflex to wake my baby?
Yes. The startle reflex often wakes young babies, which is one reason a safe swaddle helps some newborns settle in the early weeks. Stop swaddling as soon as the baby shows any signs of rolling. The reflex fades around 2 months, and sleep often gets less jumpy after that.
