Question

The new mother is holding her infant, speaking softly and gently stroking the baby's face. she giggles and asks the nurse why the baby turns toward her finger when she strokes the cheeks. the nurse should explain that this is which common newborn reflex?

Answer 1

This is the common rooting reflex.
The rooting reflex happens in normal newborn babies automatically turning their mouth toward the finger, as mentioned above, or other touch stimulus in the cheeks or lips, making sucking motions. This is an important reflex that helps successful breastfeeding as they look for breasts to suckle.