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Ventral Suspension Position
Ventral Suspension Position
infant’s appearance when held in midair falling. In children with hemiplegia, the
on a horizontal response is notice-able only on the
unaffected side. Children with cerebral
plane, supported by a hand under the
palsy
abdomen (Fig. 29.2A).
do not demonstrate this response
In this position, the newborn allows the
because they flex their ex-tremities too
head to hang down
tightly.
with little effort at control. A 1-month-old
Prone Position.When lying on their
child lifts the
stomach, newborns
head momentarily, then drops it again.
can turn their heads to move them out of
Two-month-old chil-dren hold their heads
a position where
in the same plane as the rest of their
breathing is impaired, but they cannot
body, a major advance in muscle control.
hold them raised
A 3-month-old
(see Fig. 29.2B). By 1 month of age,
child lifts and maintains the head well
infants lift their heads
above the plane of the
and turn them easily to the side. They still
rest of the body in ventral suspension.
tend to keep
A Landau reflexdevelops at 3 months.
their knees tucked under the abdomen as
When held in ven-tral suspension, an
they did as a new-born. Two-month-old
infant’s head, legs, and spine extend.
infants can raise their heads and
When the head is depressed, the hips,
maintain the position, but they cannot
knees, and elbows flex.
raise their chests
This reflex continues to be present in
high enough to look around yet. Their
most infants during the
head is still held fac-ing downward.
second 6 months of life, but then it
A 3-month-old child lifts the head and
becomes increasingly dif-ficult to
shoulders well off
demonstrate. A child with motor
weakness, cerebral the table and looks around when prone.
The pelvis is flat on
palsy, or other neuromuscular defect will
not be able to the table, no longer elevated. Some
children can turn from a
demonstrate the reflex.
prone to a side-lying position at this age.
At 6 to 9 months, an infant also
demonstrates a parachute Four-month-old children lift their chests
off the bed and
reactionfrom a ventral suspension
position. When infants are look around actively, turning their heads
from side to side.
suddenly lowered toward an examining
table from ventral
They can turn from front to back. The first reactionfrom a ventral suspension
time, this tends position. When infants are
palsy, or other neuromuscular defect will the table and looks around when prone.
not be able to The pelvis is flat on