12/07/2025
Keeping a baby close to you and providing more hours of touch offers numerous benefits across physical, emotional, and cognitive development.
▶️Physical Benefits
📑Improved Physiological Stability: Close contact helps regulate the baby’s heart rate, breathing, and body temperature, creating a stable environment similar to the womb.
📑Enhanced Sleep Quality: Babies who experience more physical touch and closeness tend to sleep more soundly and for longer periods, which is crucial for brain development and overall health.
📑Better Weight Gain and Growth: Skin-to-skin contact, particularly in premature infants, has been shown to improve feeding tolerance and promote faster weight gain and growth.
📑Stronger Immune System: Physical closeness and touch can lead to reduced stress levels, which in turn helps support a robust immune system.
▶️Emotional and Social Benefits
📑Secure Attachment: Frequent physical contact helps the baby feel safe, secure, and loved. This builds a strong, secure attachment (bonding) between the baby and caregiver, which is foundational for future emotional health and relationships.
📑Reduced Crying and Colic: The soothing nature of touch, combined with the familiarity of a parent’s smell and heartbeat, significantly reduces crying, fussiness, and symptoms of colic.
📑Improved Parental Confidence: Holding your baby frequently can increase a parent’s confidence in their ability to care for and understand their baby’s needs and cues.
📑Enhanced Emotional Regulation: By providing comfort and soothing through touch, parents help their babies develop the ability to regulate their own emotions later in life.
▶️Cognitive Benefits
📑Brain Development: Positive touch experiences release oxytocin (the “love hormone”) and reduce stress hormones (like cortisol). Lower stress levels and increased oxytocin production support healthy brain development and function.
📑Improved Cognitive Function: Studies have shown that babies who receive more physical affection may demonstrate improved cognitive scores and fewer behavioral problems later in childhood.