According to new reserach, physical affection during a baby’s development period is even more important than we thought. The more you […]
According to new reserach, physical affection during a baby’s development period is even more important than we thought.
The more you hug a baby, the more their brains grow according to a recent study from the Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Ohio.
Researchers looked at the brain responses of 125 babies, which included both premature and full-term bubs and how they responded to physical touch.
The results indicated that premature babies responded to affection less than babies who were not born premature. What was also revealed however, was that babies that were subjected to more affection by parents or hospital staff showed stronger brain response.
According to researcher Dr. Nathalie Maitre, this last revelation tells us that something as simple as body contact or rocking your baby in your arms will make a big difference in how their brains develop.
“Making sure that preterm babies receive positive, supportive touch such as skin-to-skin care by parents is essential to help their brains respond to gentle touch in ways similar to those of babies who experienced an entire pregnancy inside their mother’s womb,” Maitre tells Science Daily.
“We certainly hoped to see that more positive touch experiences in the hospital would help babies have a more typical perception of touch when they went home,” Dr Maitre added.
“But, we were very surprised to find out that if babies experience more painful procedures early in life, their sense of gentle touch can be affected,” she explained.
Basically having a good cuddle with your bub is going to help their brain grow, so enjoy it while it lasts and know that you’re doing a good thing for their development.