Answered by Suzanne Dixon M.D., M.P.H.
"There is nothing so amazing as the development of a child," says Suzanne Dixon, M.D., a behavioral and developmental pediatrician who was one of the founding members of the Pampers Parenting Network. "Every day is a new adventure when you have a child around you. I never get tired of learning from the children who have been a part of my life, professionally and personally."Suzanne Dixon, M.D., M.P.H., was born and raised in Minnesota and graduated from the University of Minnesota, School of Medicine. She did her pediatric training at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and then completed a fellowship in Child Development at Boston's Children's Hospital. Dr. Dixon joined the faculty at the University of California, San Diego, and did patient care, teaching, and research for 20 years. She ran a large newborn service, performed research in early child development, and was involved in many community outreach activities in maternal child health. Throughout her entire professional life she has maintained an interest in cross-cultural activities, living and working in many parts of the world, including Mexico, India, Kenya, Indonesia, and several countries from the former U.S.S.R. Dr. Dixon is the author of numerous research articles, review articles, and textbook chapters in pediatrics, child and family development, and public health. Her textbook, written with Dr. Martin Stein, Encounters With Children: Pediatric Behavior and Development, has become a classic in child health education and is in its fourth edition. She is Editor in Chief of the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, an international journal of high standing in the professional world. She also has served as an associate editor for Infant Mental Health and currently reviews for several major pediatric journals. Dr. Dixon is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and served in national positions in that organization. She is a member of the Society for Pediatric Research, the Society for Research in Child Development, the American Public Health Association, and the Executive Council of the Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. She serves as consultant to several national and international organizations and has received an award from Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies.Dr. Dixon continues to lecture and consult worldwide on aspects of maternal, child, and family health. She practices behavioral and developmental pediatrics in Montana and works with local advocacy groups on education and women''s health. Dr. Dixon has been married for over 30 years and has three sons. She and her husband travel frequently, are outdoor enthusiasts, and enjoy being amateur anthropologists.
Question
How should my baby be responding to sounds at 3 months?
Answer
Your 3-month-old should turn to sounds such as your voice or to music. She should look up when you enter a room and call her name or a greeting. Loud sounds may be off-putting to her and she might ignore them but, pleasurable ones should cause her to become alertto open her eyes, sit up, and show some change in behavior.
If you have ANY question about her ability to recognize and respond to sounds, bring her to her health care provider right away. Most newborns are screened for hearing loss these days while still in the hospital, and those results on your daughter should be available and reassuring. However, it's possible that the test may not have been done on your daughter, or that the results were lost, or that your daughter's hearing loss was missed. A repeat test may be needed if there are any questions about the original test results or if there is any question now about your daughter's hearing. Get this checked out right away. A child with even a slight hearing loss gets the best results if treatment is begun early, prior to 6 months of age.
