Aquatic Therapy for Kids in Southaven: How It Improves Strength, Coordination, and Confidence

Reflux + Developmental Delay. Are they related?

What’s on our minds right now? Reflux. Did you know reflux in infants can be silent? No spitting up, no vomiting. Sometimes arching, crying, refusal to feed, and difficulty sleeping can be related to reflux, AND this Silent Reflux can affect developmental milestones. Most notably, feeding and motor milestones early on in life. To achieve early motor milestones, being able to tolerate lying on the stomach, known as prone position, is crucial, however, almost intolerable if reflux is present. Hence this is where the delays start. Prone position allows babies to develop head and neck control as well as hip and upper body strength. Vision begins to develop here as well. What’s next should be rolling, but if the baby cannot tolerate prone, then rolling doesn’t happen.

Oral Motor Development is also a progression of skills that develop early in infancy. Oral motor skills begin in the womb with the development of primitive reflexes that support feeding at full term. By four months of age, most infants have gained some head control and can remain in an upright position with support. This is when parents are beginning to introduce puréed foods. Between 7 and 9 months of age, infants are now moving into new developmental motor patterns, including unsupported sitting, quadruped, and crawling. This development supports jaw stability, breath support, and fine motor development for self-feeding skills. An interruption in the motor area of development due to the difficulty with reflux symptoms can impact the developmental progression of oral motor skills.

What can help? 

1. Infant massage and Craniosacral Therapy. These two manual therapy approaches address the underlying and internal soft tissue restrictions that contribute to reflux and motor delays. A trained therapist can provide these types of manual therapy approaches to give the infant relief from reflux, improve strength and ease of movement, and help strengthen underlying weak muscle groups. 

Click here for a great Baby Massage resource / Affiliate link

Click here for infant massage oil / Affiliate link

2. Positioning. Supporting your infant in an upright position can help support digestion and decrease reflux symptoms. Here is a great option for support in a reclined position. 

Click here for a popular positioning option / Affiliate link

If you are a parent or caregiver and have concerns about your child’s development, talk with your child’s pediatrician about your concerns. 

Read more about reflux here https://www.healthcentral.com/article/does-reflux-cause-motor-delays

Read more about oral motor development here https://www.theottoolbox.com/development-of-oral-motor-skills

Read more about Craniosacral Therapy https://www.the-elbowroom.com/pregnancy-new-mums-babies/baby-reflux/