P94: Disorders of muscle tone of newborn

P94.2: Congenital hypotonia

Muscles are made up of many long cells. These cells form the muscle fibers. Muscle fibers can contract and tense, but also relax again. As the individual muscle fibers tense and relax, the tension in the muscle as a whole changes.

There are various reasons why the baby has had too little muscle tone since it was born. It may be caused by various disorders or medications, for example. After the birth, there can be a variety of indications that there is too little muscle tone.

When there is too little muscle tone, the arms and legs might seem limp. The child may move about less than usual. The baby might also have a sucking weakness. It may also have breathing problems.