Why is hugging important?

In the mother’s womb, the baby is enveloped by the soft walls of the uterus. The baby’s body is stimulated by touch from the beginning. After birth, the baby is placed in its mother’s caring arms. The first skin-to-skin contact is the most important moment in the little one’s life. Shortly after birth, the midwife dries the toddler and places it on mom’s breast, then wraps it to protect it from heat loss. The mother’s body is able to raise the temperature where the baby lies to warm it. For the newborn everything is new, the touch, smells, sounds, light, lower temperature. The baby on the mother’s belly more easily accepts the new conditions, hears her heartbeat, smells her skin, and in a moment will get the first drops of colostrum, which is a natural “vaccine”. The mother, under the influence of hormones, falls in love with the baby, even if she previously wondered if she would be up to the new role. Physical closeness is crucial in building bonds, both between mother and child and at every later stage of life in relationships with other people. Responsible for this to a large extent is oxytocin, known as the love hormone, released in the brain under the influence of hugging. Hugging and caring provide continuous, elevated levels of oxytocin in the child, which provides a sense of security and lowers stress hormones. The baby is calmer, sleeps better and longer, is easier to feed, and caring for the baby is not exhausting for the parents.

Let’s not forget the dad!

Hugging the father with the baby builds a bond and eases the transition into a new role. Men who cuddle children are more sensitive to their needs, more willing to stay with the child so that mom can leave the house. Men who have experienced skin-to-skin contact with a newborn baby by cesarean section are more involved in caring for the baby, and the babies are calmer, cry less and sleep better, and as a result, you sleep more.

And now you come home and hear: ” don’t rock, don’t carry because he will get used to it”, nothing could be further from the truth. After all, he didn’t have time to wean himself, and he was rocked the whole pregnancy in his mother’s belly, gently massaged by the surrounding fetal waters. Babies don’t terrorize, they report needs, and if parents meet those needs then babies are “easier to handle.”

Hugging reduces a baby’s levels of stress hormones, and stimulates the release of endorphins. These are natural opioids that reduce the sensation of pain and give a sense of pleasure.

Summarize why cuddle?

Children who are hugged feel loved, accepted, can more easily endure setbacks and accidents, minor injuries.

They cope more easily later in life, are braver, more confident, and develop faster.

Hugging is responsible for a child’s emotional development

Touch supports the development of intelligence, by increasing the number of connections between cells in the brain.

Infants receive more than 80% of stimuli through touch, which means they learn about the world

Hugging supports the development and function of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems and improves immunity.

Hugging is also essential for adults. The British Heart Foundation
organization conducted a study that showed that just 20 seconds of hugging not only reduces stress, but also has a beneficial effect on the heart: it lowers heart rate and blood pressure, and strengthens brain function.

Let’s
cuddle

12 times a day to develop properly

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8 times a day to stay healthy

4 times a day to survive

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