Question
Hello, my niece’s newborn is over 40 days old. The child is growing normally, but there’s an occasional phenomenon of arm and leg tremors when sleeping, which stop after a short time. The baby can’t tolerate any noise; it wakes up with sound and sometimes cries and fusses.
Answer
Since the baby is still very young, the brain development is not yet complete and its functions are not fully matured. However, the function of the subcortical midbrain and spinal cord has already reached a relatively mature level. Therefore, the movements of neonates are mainly realized through the subcortical midbrain such as the spinal cord, which is not fully controlled by the cerebral cortex. As a result, there are often purposeless and involuntary limb tremors. Therefore, neonatal limb tremors are a normal physiological phenomenon and are completely unrelated to convulsions or calcium deficiency. It also has nothing to do with the old sayings. As long as it doesn’t cry frequently, there’s no need to worry about it. It will get better as they grow older. But if there are other situations, it’s best to consult a doctor.