Book review - Retained Neonatal Reflexes
Retained Neonatal Reflexes is an illustrated A5 booklet of 40 pages. It is a useful tool to handout to patients to help their understanding of the primitive reflexes which lay down the development of the nervous system of the growing child.
As a practitioner it is a useful handbook as it describes the primitive reflexes succinctly. Each reflex is described and its function. This description is then followed by a list of symptoms of what the retained reflex may cause. Opposite the text is a cute illustration which helps to emphasis the main outcome of the reflex when retained.
Primitive reflexes, postural and lifelong reflexes are important in the development of the baby. In order to allow the maturation of the nervous system a sequence of movements are performed by the baby at certain stages of growth. Once these behaviours have been integrated the child can build on these simple movements to perform more complicated movements. When these crucial steps have been left out or retained the higher functions of the brain may not develop as it should. These retained reflexes may have an impact on the learning ability of the child and hinder them reaching their full potential.