McKesson Clinical Reference Systems: Women's Health Advisor 2002.2
Spanish version

Some newborn behaviors that concern parents are not signs of illness. Most of the following harmless reflexes are due to an immature nervous system and will disappear in 3 or 4 months:

• chin trembling
• lower lip quivering
• hiccups
• irregular breathing (This is normal if your baby is content, the rate is less than 60 breaths per minute, any pauses are less than 10 seconds long, and your baby doesn't turn blue. Occasionally infants take rapid, progressively deeper, stepwise breaths to completely expand their lungs.)
• passing gas (not a temporary behavior)
• sleep noise from breathing and moving
• sneezing
• spitting up or belching
• brief stiffening of the body after a noise or sudden movement (also called the startle reflex, the Moro reflex, or the embrace reflex)
• straining with bowel movements
• throat clearing (or gurgling sounds of secretions in the throat)
• trembling or jitteriness of arms and legs are common during crying (Jittery babies are common. Convulsions are rare. During convulsions babies also jerk, blink their eyes, rhythmically suck with their mouths, and don't cry.) If your baby is trembling and not crying, give her something to suck on. If the trembling doesn't stop when your baby is sucking, call your physician's office immediately.
• yawning.

This content is reviewed periodically and is subject to change as new health information becomes available. The information is intended to inform and educate and is not a replacement for medical evaluation, advice, diagnosis or treatment by a healthcare professional.