HealthCareMagic is now Ask A Doctor - 24x7 | https://www.askadoctor24x7.com

question-icon

What Could Be The Reason For Delayed Motor Skill Development In Children?

default
Posted on Wed, 4 Dec 2013
Question: Hello, our 9 month old baby has been diagnosed with "low tone" and delayed motor skills development. The doctor says he's about 2 months behind. She says his cognitive development seems just fine though. He was 5 weeks behind in sitting up, and he's still not standing. He sits in the splits position and has a wide gate. He was breeched when he was born and was a c-section baby. Also, his birth mother was a vegan, so he got no protein and no prenatal care in utero. I have two questions: 1) could the "low muscle tone" be because his birth mother was a vegan? 2) what is the long term prognosis for a 9 month old who is 2 months behind developmentally? Thanks, XXXXXXX L.
doctor
Answered by Dr. Deepak Kishore Kaltari (1 hour later)
Brief Answer: vegetarian status unrelated to muscle tone Detailed Answer: Namaste Welcome to Healthcare-Magic Greetings of the day Dear XXXXXXX L Coming to your first query- The muscle tone of baby is not related to the mother being a vegetarian. To the contrary, vegetarian food is a rich source of folio acid which helps in neural and mental development and prevents neural tube defect development. So vegetarian food is in fact better than non vegetarian. Child development milestones are assessed having a range. It's not a gard rule. We say usually child sits around at the age of 5 months. It does not necessarily mean it has to sit at exactly 5 months. There is a wide variation. Some child may sit around quite early that is by 4 months and some may not sit even at 6 1/2 months. So a difference of just 5 weeks to 2 months may not significantly affect the long term outlook. The children tend to pick up latter. I hope it helped In case you have any other query, kindly get back to me. Take care Regards Dr Deepak Kishore Consultant Pediatric Surgeon
Note: For further queries related to your child health, Talk to a Pediatrician. Click here to Book a Consultation.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T
doctor
Answered by
Dr.
Dr. Deepak Kishore Kaltari

General Surgeon

Practicing since :2002

Answered : 3195 Questions

Ask me a question
premium_optimized

The User accepted the expert's answer

Ask a Pediatrician
Share on

Get personalised answers from verified doctor in minutes across 80+ specialties

159 Doctors Online

By proceeding, I accept the Terms and Conditions

HCM Blog Instant Access to Doctors
HCM Blog Questions Answered
HCM Blog Satisfaction
backtotop2
What Could Be The Reason For Delayed Motor Skill Development In Children?

Brief Answer: vegetarian status unrelated to muscle tone Detailed Answer: Namaste Welcome to Healthcare-Magic Greetings of the day Dear XXXXXXX L Coming to your first query- The muscle tone of baby is not related to the mother being a vegetarian. To the contrary, vegetarian food is a rich source of folio acid which helps in neural and mental development and prevents neural tube defect development. So vegetarian food is in fact better than non vegetarian. Child development milestones are assessed having a range. It's not a gard rule. We say usually child sits around at the age of 5 months. It does not necessarily mean it has to sit at exactly 5 months. There is a wide variation. Some child may sit around quite early that is by 4 months and some may not sit even at 6 1/2 months. So a difference of just 5 weeks to 2 months may not significantly affect the long term outlook. The children tend to pick up latter. I hope it helped In case you have any other query, kindly get back to me. Take care Regards Dr Deepak Kishore Consultant Pediatric Surgeon