Skin-to-skin contact is vital for receiving affection and helps babies and mothers bond, which brings about feelings of love between the two. When mothers take that love initially shown via skin-to-skin contact and give it consistently to their babies, a new study states that babies can increase brain function and empathize better with others as adults.
According to a study conducted by researchers from the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya in Israel, in conjunction with Yale University, newborns who had consistent contact with their mothers after birth grew up to be more empathetic of others versus those who did not receive the same contact with their mothers after birth.
The study, published in the journal PNAS, followed 96 babies from the time they were born until they were 20-years-old.
When the babies were born, they were placed into three separate categories, according to HealthDay. Those categories included babies born full-term with as much access as they wanted to their mother, preemies who were in the NICU for a few weeks without access to their mothers, and preemies in the NICU who were given at least one hour of skin-to-skin time with their mother for two weeks straight but only one time per day.
Over the course of 20 years, the babies and mothers were checked in on "periodically," according to Medical Xpress. By doing so, researchers were able to track how "maternal-infant contact increases mother-child synchrony," according to the study.
Synchrony is important, according to Psychology Today because it is how people bond with one another. The more time that is spent with an infant, the more mother-child synchrony is built. One of the easiest ways to accomplish this is through touch or play when the baby is too young to understand language.
To measure this, the mother and child relationship was observed to see how they non-verbally interacted with one another when the babies were young. This showed the level of affection there was for one another even before the babies could talk.
As the children aged and were able to have more "complex" conversations with their mothers, the mothers and children shared opinions and got to see the "other person's side" when it came to how each other felt, according to HealthDay.
At the end of the 20 years, researchers measured the areas of the brain that deal with emotion, empathy, and even creativity, specifically the amygdala and the insula, according to the study.
What researchers found was that those who had a close relationship with their mothers from birth not surprisingly had the highest levels of synchrony. However, even those who did not have the close touch as newborns due to being born prematurely were able to play catch-up of sorts emotionally.
Researchers found that if NICU babies who were not able to have physical touch at birth had "loving, comforting parents, they still did well," according to pediatrician, Dr. Michael Yogman, per Medical Xpress.
What this study shows is just how important the first years of life are for babies. The more in tune they are with their mothers, the better off they will become emotionally as adults and are better able to empathize with others in their lives.
Source: HealthDay, Medical Xpress, PNAS, Psychology Today