It is no wonder that young parents with special trepidation relate to the health of their baby and begin to experience with the slightest symptoms of malaise. One of the problems that frightens and worries the parents is chattering of the chin in newborns.
Why does the newborn have a chin?
Involuntary twitching of the muscles in the baby is called a tremor. If you notice that your newborn child, when crying, shakes his chin or his hands are shaking - do not panic. In children under three months of age, the nervous system is not yet sufficiently developed, at the same time, when the baby experiences emotions, immaturity of the adrenal gland leads to an excess of the hormone norepinephrine in the blood. These two factors together can lead to chin tremor in newborns. As a rule, such a symptom can be seen in infants after physical exertion or emotional experience, this indicates that the nervous system is overexcited. Thus, chin tremor in newborns up to three months old is not a pathology and does not require separate treatment.
When should I see a doctor?
It should be noted that trembling of the chin in the quiet state of the child may indicate hypertension - a disease of muscle tone, in which there is an overuse of the muscles of the child. In this case, it is necessary to consult a doctor who, after a complete examination of the newborn, will provide recommendations on how to relax the tense muscles of the baby. Usually, with this diagnosis, several courses of professional massage and therapeutic gymnastics are prescribed, as well as warm baths based on decoction of medicinal herbs, which have a calming and relaxing effect.
Dangerous is the case if the tremor in a newborn child is spread over the entire head. Also, you should consult a neurologist if the baby continues to shake his chin after reaching three months of age. These symptoms indicate the diseases of the central nervous system, and the causes of their occurrence can be very different.
As a rule, premature infants are most likely to suffer from this disease. This can be explained by the fact that at the time of birth the child's nervous system was not yet mature enough. The main cause that can trigger the appearance of chin jerking in newborns, as a symptom of the disease, is the mother's stresses during pregnancy. Increased levels of the hormone norepinephrine through the placenta enters the blood of the fetus, resulting in disrupted the development of the nervous and endocrine system of the baby. Another cause of tremor of the chin in infants can be fetal hypoxia, because due to lack of oxygen, normal brain work is disrupted. Prerequisites for tremor in infants during pregnancy can be a threat of miscarriage, placenta, a baby's cord entanglement, and too weak or, conversely,
Treatment of tremor of the chin in newborns
If the tremor of the chin in a newborn occurs without a reason or the child is already more than three months old, you should consult a pediatric neurologist. With timely and proper treatment, your baby's nervous system can come back to normal in a short time. The main thing is that the child should be under strict medical supervision. In addition, it is important to make the newborn a relaxing massage and therapeutic gymnastics, and also helps to cope with this malaise in swimming. Surround your baby with a calm, friendly atmosphere and your baby will feel good again.