Further Reading

Your baby will have been moving for some time before birth, with their first movements linked to the activity of motor neurons, then movements caused by primitive reflexes in response to sensory stimulus.^[1] You might have noticed a professional checking for some of these primitive reflexes shortly after birth, perhaps holding your baby upright in order to see stepping or walking reflexes. The first movements that you may see soon after your baby is born might be shaky movements of their chin, arms or legs, particularly when they cry.^[2]

Early movement – from curled up to stretching out