It is a common perception that it isn’t wise to handle baby animals too much; after all it has its own mother to do that. But! The same cannot be said for human babies and though there are some who may advise you not to carry your baby or handle her too much, you should on the contrary do just the opposite.
Research shows no amount of cuddling and holding your baby can be considered too much and the more you do it, the better for them.
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Consider the fact during a pregnancy; a baby’s only known environment is a mother’s womb. On an emotional level, it feels safe and secure which is why each time a mother and also a father cuddles a baby, it induces a psychologically secure feeling for the child recalling the atmosphere of the womb. A child’s sound emotional development depends much on childhood security and this can only be provided form the day he or she has been born.
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There is no overstating the importance of touch for a developing baby. The research says that by holding your baby more often, you contribute towards her brain development. This is in contrast to what was presumed by the experts earlier.
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The research took place at Ohio’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital and involved 125 full term and premature babies. Researchers were amazed to find that premature babies responded positively and even strongly to frequent gentle touching and holding by parents and the NICU staff in comparison to babies who were touched less frequently.
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It also showed that gentle rocking, cuddling, and touching influenced healthy brain development. It also proved that when you spend a lot of time with an infant, the better for the baby.
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Even if you haven’t yet started touching your baby more often, it is never too late to start stated lead researcher Dr Naithalie Maitre. Starting late won’t make a difference and it will yield a host of good benefits she said.
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In fact, not just for human babies, similar research has proved that the same applies to animals from rat pups to dogs and cats. The bottom line is that touching and contact is extremely crucial for a baby’s brain development.
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Dr Maitre explained that parents should ensure their babies especially premature ones are constantly exposed to supportive and positive touching such as skin to skin contact and care by both parents. This is extremely important for developing their cognitive abilities and brain health. Preterm babies should be made to allow their brains to respond to such contact in the same way babies who have had a full term have experienced in the womb.
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Dr Nathalie Maitre of Nationwide Children's Hospital and Vanderbilt University Medical Center also said that” When parents cannot do this, hospitals may want to consider occupational and physical therapists to provide a carefully planned touch experience, sometimes missing from a hospital setting." Her research was published in the journal current Biology in March. This was especially targeted to the almost 15 million premature infants spending long periods of time in NICU (neonatal intensive care units).
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In fact the research went on to state that touching and parental contact with premature and full term babies had lifelong benefits. If parents aren’t able to provide such things, then hospitals need to bring in physical therapists to provide the gentle touch experience that is usually missing from a hospital atmosphere and setting.
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Skin to skin contact also known as kangaroo care between infants and parents is now a common practice in hospitals around the country. Unfortunately, premature babies do not get the luxury of such things where it is a common rule in hospitals that premature babies should not be held.
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The advocacy of touching babies for brain development and benefit doesn’t only extend to the mother. Fathers too need to also touch their babies and to some extent close relatives as well.
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Close skin to skin contact is slowly and steadily growing where a viral episode last year featured how a big brother participated in a programme of skin to skin contact for his own sibling. In fact in Atlanta, there is an ICU Grandpa who cuddles babies when hospital staff or parents aren’t able to.
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The familiar idea is that children can be spoiled but that’s when they reach a certain age. Babies cannot be spoiled. There is nothing negative that can be produced by holding a baby too much except for the occasional tired parent. Holding your baby as often as you can in their early stages of life will benefit them for life.
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