It’ll be roughly 12 months before your newborn is taking her first real steps, but one of the more delightful reflexes that make its appearance at birth is the stepping or walking reflex.
Like the other newborn reflexes your baby comes into this world with, the stepping reflex is totally involuntary. It just happens on its own if you’ve got your baby in the right mood and position.
But this reflex may be much more than a party trick to entertain your family. Experts now think the infant step reflex is nature’s way of setting the stage for walking. Here’s everything you need to know about this newborn reflex.
What is the stepping reflex?
The stepping reflex in babies is exactly what it sounds like: If you hold your newborn up facing forward and let her feet lightly touch a flat surface, she’ll take steps as if she were walking. If you do this at home, keep your hands under her arms and try to support her neck and head with your thumbs.
Just don’t let her go as she practices her infant step reflex. Your newborn’s little legs can’t support her weight the way they will when she’s getting ready to stand up on her own two feet.
What is the purpose of the stepping reflex in newborns?
Like the rooting reflex and the sucking reflex, the stepping reflex may be a way for your newborn to get to the source of food — it seems to be nature’s way of allowing your baby to crawl toward your breast when she’s placed on your stomach right after birth, say some experts. But the real function of the stepping reflex may also be to prep your little one for her first “real” steps later down the road.
Read This Next
Newborns alternate their legs during the stepping reflex in the same way they will months later when they walk, leading some researchers to theorize that walking is hard-wired in the nervous system.
At 3 and 4 months, babies also show the same alternating pattern when they kick their legs, another way of strengthening their muscles for all those motor milestones they’ll conquer in the next few months.
When does the stepping reflex first appear?
The stepping reflex is present at birth, and your baby’s provider will test for it at your baby’s first checkup. To trigger the stepping reflex, the doctor will hold your baby underneath her arms so she’s upright and facing forward with her feet on a flat, padded surface. Then the pediatrician will tilt her forward a bit and see if she lifts one foot, then the other, as if she’s taking steps.
So how long does the stepping reflex last? Not long — by the time your baby is 2 months old, it disappears (though many experts think it just goes underground until your baby learns to walk and point to the fact that older babies seem to "step" when they're held up in the water too).
The reason: From months 2 to 8, your baby is gaining more fat than muscle, which makes it harder for her to lift her legs. Once the muscles get stronger as she gets older, your little one will have the strength to lift her legs when she’s standing up.
What does it mean when the stepping reflex is absent?
Newborn reflexes are a way for doctors to tell whether your baby’s brain and nervous system are working properly. If you can’t get your sweetie to step, it may be that she’s fussy or tired, you may not be tilting her far forward enough or your baby may be stepping but it’s hard to tell because her movements are so slight.
Try again in a couple of days to see if she’ll step. And bring it up with the pediatrician. Your baby’s health care provider might have a better shot at getting your newborn to “walk.” Also mention it if your baby still has the stepping reflex after 2 months old.
Around your baby’s first birthday or soon after, you’ll see your cutie take those first real steps and propel herself forward on her own. In between, there’ll be those other exciting milestones where leg strength comes into play, from rolling over to crawling.
Yes 
No 
Trending On What to Expect
