Touch is so important to an infant because it is one of their key senses and the most basic form of communication. It helps communication and bonding with your baby. Through nurturing touch we can communicate that a baby is loved and cared for. Through nurturing touch a baby can sleep more soundly as it lowers stress and can aid digestion issues.
“Human beings cannot survive without touch; t is a basic behavioural need. Without touch, the human infant will surely die. With healthy touch, the human infant not only survives but thrives” - Dr Ashley Montagu
Touch is a way to help regulate their nervous system and temperature and can improve a baby's immune function. Skin to skin contact is essential when bonding with baby and is highly recommended to do if possible as soon as baby is born and as often as you like after birth. When mothers hold their babies hormones are released to help relax the mother and bond with her baby creating a feeling of belonging, trust, safety and security for the infant. (Oxytocin)
From before babies are born they are caressed in the womb and during birth the contractions provide massive stimulation to the babies skin and nervous system. Infants are accustomed to the tactile stimulation of constant movement and they need the re-establishment of those rhythms after birth.
Touch is the first sense to be developed in the womb and the last sense to leave us before we die.
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