Why does the baby have developmental delay?

In life, many babies suffer from developmental delay. For babies, developmental delay is generally caused by the lack of basic elements needed for growth and development in the body, or some genetic factors. Many babies with developmental delay will make mothers very anxious, for fear that their babies will be surpassed by other babies and that it will affect the children's future lives. So why do babies suffer from developmental delay?

Causes of developmental delay in babies

1. Normal growth variation

There are many reasons for baby developmental delay, among which, developmental delay caused by normal growth variation accounts for 80%-90% of the total. That is to say, the reason why most babies have developmental delay is due to congenital genetic factors or intrauterine maldevelopment, such as familial stature, constitutional developmental delay or low weight dwarfism. This growth rate is normal and does not require special treatment for the baby.

2. Pathological causes

Pathological reasons can also cause developmental delay in babies, such as chromosomal abnormalities, such as Down syndrome or Turner syndrome in babies; metabolic diseases; bone diseases, such as osteochondrodysplasia; chronic diseases; chronic malnutrition diseases; endocrine diseases, such as growth hormone deficiency and hypothyroidism. These will affect the baby's normal development. When these are discovered, mothers need to get their babies treated as soon as possible.

Symptoms of developmental delay in babies

The baby's developmental delay is mainly manifested in five aspects, including physical development lag, motor development lag, language development lag, intellectual development lag, psychological development lag, etc., which can be specifically seen from the following points:

1. Newborns or babies within 3 months of birth are easily frightened and cry incessantly.

2. The baby's crying is sharp or screaming, and the tone of the crying does not change.

3. The baby becomes averse to milk and has difficulty sleeping, has difficulty with early feeding, and has drooling.

4. Babies are easily startled by noise, and the hugging reflex will be enhanced and accompanied by crying.

5. The baby cannot stand up, take steps or make a fist at 3 months old. The thumb is still retracted and the hand is not open at 4 months old. The head is still shaking when the baby straightens his waist at 4-5 months old. After 5 months, he still cannot reach out to grab objects. At 4-6 weeks after birth, he still cannot smile, recognizes people, and has a slow reaction.

6. The baby's muscles are soft and he cannot turn over. His movements are slow and stiff. He does not like taking a bath, tends to stay upright, and his limb movements are asymmetrical.

7. Premature development, turning over is reflexive rather than segmental; poor crawling awareness, crawling without hand support, and no separation movements. Excessive sleeping, aimless hyperactivity, short attention span, etc.

What to do if your baby has developmental delay

The baby's body systems are in the process of growth and development shortly after birth. Generally speaking, the earlier the abnormality occurs, the better the effect of intervention and rehabilitation treatment. In addition, when treating a baby's developmental delay, we must first determine the cause of the baby's development and then provide symptomatic treatment. Let’s take a look at common treatments for physical developmental delays and methods for preventing language delays.

1. Treatment of physical development retardation

Physical retardation is mostly caused by malnutrition, so it is necessary to have a reasonable diet, cultivate good eating habits, and increase appetite; if it is due to systemic disease, then the primary disease needs to be actively treated; if it is a familial inheritance, it can be treated through acquired conditioning and growth hormone can be used as appropriate; if it is a congenital genetic or metabolic disease, then symptomatic treatment is required and corresponding special treatments can be carried out.

2. Treatment of language delay

In the case of developmental delay in babies, first of all, you can encourage your baby to speak more and let him express his needs; in addition, you should give your baby more rewards and let him speak; you can also let your baby have more contact with nature and society to enrich your baby's life. If he sees more, he will want to speak; if it is caused by mental factors, then you need to improve the living environment so that the baby can be taken care of mentally and in life.