It’s official! Cuddling, holding and carrying your infant has a slew of benefits no parent can afford to overlook. So, if mom-in-law has said you’re “spoiling” the child, or you’re wondering whether you should hold your baby as much as you already do, this article is for you! As a parent, you already have an intuitive sense of what your baby needs, and when that need is for a little cuddling, don’t let anyone stop you from doing just that. Looking for confirmation? Let’s see how your child benefits from close contact with you. But first, here are some tips for giving baby the contact he or she craves.
Keeping Baby Close
You’d love to be able to hold your bundle of joy for hours on end, but your hands may have other things to do. Baby wraps made from soft fabric help you to keep your baby close against your heart, even when you’re out and about or busy at home. It’s the natural way to do things.
Consider what moms did before the invention of the stroller – they’re still doing it in Africa, and Nairobi stores report that strollers simply don’t sell. Their belief is that strollers are actually harmful to the baby – and while this is an extreme viewpoint, carrying your baby on your back African-style or in front of your body, as most Westerners do, certainly helps with feelings of closeness and comfort.
So, is there real evidence for the benefits of close contact in your baby’s development? It turns out there is. Let’s explore them together.
Better Growth and Development Through Touch
Research on the benefits of touch for premature babies found that these little ones, ordinarily kept in incubators and handled as little as possible, developed better when given light massage and gentle manipulation of the limbs. They gained weight faster and showed more rapid motor development than their counterparts. Following this study, researchers noted that experiments on monkeys had shown that infants separated from their mothers produced higher levels of stress hormones, and that contact with their mothers instantly soothed them.
But it’s not only premature babies that benefit. Experts link the power of touch to better social, emotional and intellectual development. On the flipside, the effects of touch deprivation have been studied too. Infants that lacked physical contact with caregivers were predisposed towards loneliness, feelings of isolation, and troublesome behaviour as older children.
Physical Affection, Health, and Cognition
Margaret Mead, a researcher who examined cultures in which children were considered better off without physical contact, reached the disturbing conclusion that adult violence was more prevalent in these cultures. She noted that children who experienced physical affection during infancy were more sociable and seemed to show better intellectual development.
James W Prescott focussed on the effects of sensory deprivation in infants uncovering a higher incidence of neurological disorders in children who were deprived of physical affection. In adulthood, these people were also more likely to succumb to substance abuse, a factor that he attributed to compensation for this lack of early demonstrations of affection.
A retrospective study of children who lacked physical contact when being raised in orphanages during the 1920s showed stunted growth, higher mortality, and smaller brain size than children raised in loving homes. And in case you were wondering, the research team found that nutrition and hygiene weren’t to blame for the differences.
Why Touch Deprivation Causes So Many Problems
The sense of touch is the very first sense that a baby develops. While they are still in the womb, the nervous system begins to develop, and along with it, its links to receptors that signal touch-related sensations to the brain. Within four months of conception, a foetus experiences sensations related to touch, and by six months, it has an almost-complete system of nerve pathways. At birth, the sense of touch is your baby’s most developed sensory system and as such, it’s incredibly important to your baby.
Touch becomes a baby’s earliest form of communication with the outside world and his or her parents and regulates the balance between the brain and the hormones that influence it. Touch isn’t just a matter of fostering emotional wellbeing – it’s important to physical wellbeing too.
Studies on touch deprivation have found higher levels of serotonin in touch-deprived infants. It’s neurotransmitter that has been associated with Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, and later in life, it promotes aggression, and is associated with depression and even suicidal tendencies.
The stress hormone, cortisol, also affects brain development. High levels of cortisol during infancy can lead to difficulty in self-regulation of emotions and behaviour later on. Oxytocin, on the other hand, is stimulated through physical contact between babies and their parents. It helps with bonding, and later in life, much-loved infants show themselves to be more sociable as a result of this hormone’s effects on the brain. At the same time, Oxytocin interacts with dopamine which is linked to behaviour-regulation, learning ability, attention span, and overall feelings of wellbeing.
If You Needed an Excuse to Cuddle Your Baby, You Have Several Now!
As a parent, you may sometimes feel that you can never do right in the eyes of others. Everyone seems to be ready to give you conflicting advice, and no matter what you do, there will be people who are eager to offer criticism. While first-time parents can benefit from certain types of advice, trust your instincts. If you feel that your baby could do with a cuddle, go ahead! It might be the best thing you could do!
It’s absolutely impossible to “spoil” tiny babies. Discipline comes later. For now, it’s time to share your unconditional love, and the best way to communicate it is through gentle touch and close contact. Apart from keeping your baby close whenever you can, make special time to “play” together. It’s your chance to use that “baby talk”, make your baby laugh by doing silly things, wiggle baby’s legs, and try out some colourful baby toys. They grow so quickly. Enjoy time spent with your baby now! You’ll both benefit from the experience.
