When you have an infant, “Is this normal?” and “Should we see a doctor?” are pretty typical questions. Babies are so good at doing things that leave us wondering and worried!
Dr. Meaghan Martin, a pediatric emergency room physician, maintains social media accounts in the name beachgem10 to share information with parents, caregivers, and anyone interested. Her accounts offer general advice, and often answer that important question: should we go to the E.R.?
In this case, she’s responding to a video of a mom worrying about an odd behavior she’s seeing in her infant.
Is This Normal Behavior For A Baby?
In the original video, a mom shares a video of her baby making movements that might remind you of a baby’s startle reflex.
The baby seems to stretch little arms out to the side and tremble, and baby’s expression looks mildly upset or uncomfortable. Then the little one suddenly jerks backwards, throwing arms up in the air, and begins to cry.
In a space of seconds, the baby repeats the actions: arm stretch, tremble, reposition arms, cry and seek comfort from the off-camera mom.
Throughout, as Dr. Martin points out in her stitch, the baby is clearly alert, awake and aware, and interacting with the mother — there’s no loss of consciousness, no drooping, no loss of eye contact that can be noted.
A Symptom Or A Behavior?
It would be easy to write these behaviors off as just a baby being startled, sensitive, or anxious.
However, this mom’s instincts seem to be telling her that this might not be normal. She reached out to ask other moms if it’s something their babies do too — is this just typical baby behavior, something a little unusual, or a serious concern?
Dr. Martin makes it clear that no diagnosis should be made from a TikTok video, and she cannot confirm that there’s something wrong based on the video. However, she says that what she’s seeing warrants a further check.
What Could This Symptom Signify?
Dr. Martin says that her advice is to get an EEG — a test that examines brain activity.
The movements shown in the video could, she explains, be signs of something relatively innocuous, like colic, reflux, or Sandifer Syndrome. However, they could also be signs of a seizure disorder called West Syndrome, or infantile spasms. She explains:
“It is brief, like one second, seizures, where the arms come out or in front of the patient. Usually the head drops but it can also go backwards. A lot of times the eyes get wide, sometimes they deviate to the side.”
The seizures, the doctor explains, usually happen in quick succession, so there may be a few or several in a row, and it may happen once or several times a day.
Most importantly, every day that this goes on, it does more damage, so the recommendation is to head to an emergency room — a pediatric one if available — right away for an EEG to look for the condition.
What Happens Next?
An EEG is performed by attaching electrodes to the scalp. Then brain activity is monitored for a period of time, maybe as little as an hour and a half or as long as 24 hours.
For an infant, this may require the baby to be swaddled tightly or strapped to a pappoose board to limit movement during the test.
The brain data will print out on paper and be read, looking for hypsarrhythmia, or “chaotic brainwave abnormalities,” according to the Child Neurology Foundation.
In some cases, further testing, such as an MRI, may be called for.
The good news: there is one anti-seizure medication that is sometimes prescribed, and hormone therapy is effective in up to 80% of patients. There are potential side effects, some serious, and parents should discuss all concerns with their child’s doctor.
However, if you ever see these symptoms, the first step is to get your child to a doctor for an EEG!