There is a lot of talk about the bond between mother and baby from the very first minutes after birth, isn’t there? Today we are going to talk about a phenomenon discovered by neuroscience called imprinting: love at first sight. First observed in animals through studies by the Austrian naturalist scientist Konrad Lorenz on the process by which a newborn animal recognizes its mother, this phenomenon is even more beautiful in human beings. Minutes after birth, when visually exposed to their mothers, babies already show a preference for their mother’s face and, certainly, this preference becomes even stronger thanks to the bonds formed during life in the womb.
Imprinting proves how important those first moments between mother and baby are. Some researchers call these first minutes the “critical period” – when the baby develops a certain attachment to the mother. Another expert in child development who described this contact well was John Bowlby, an English psychologist who created attachment theory. In this theory, he states that the relationship between the baby and the mother is not developed only through feeding, but mainly through a sense of security. That’s what Frederick Leboyer says! The baby is fed with milk, but needs affection to live. Love is also nourishment! Milk feeds the body, affection feeds the soul.
In addition to breastfeeding in the first hour, which is so important for the baby’s health, we increasingly realize how vital touch, body warmth, the mother’s scent, and her gaze are for the child’s development, especially in the first years of life – the time when personality and behavior are being formed and structured. This contact is good for both the baby and the mother. The scent of her baby causes the mother to release oxytocin, which makes her feel pleasure and transfers this pleasure in the form of love to the baby! Imprinting in humans is the newborn’s fixed gaze into the mother’s eyes. A strong bond begins to be built from conception and quickly progresses into a deeply attached behavior. Bowlby cites five criteria for this behavior: suckling, crying, gazing, smiling, and clinging to the mother. Even as newborns, we can observe these actions and see that they are attempts to stay close to the mother, to seek her out.
The mother-child relationship has always been unexplainable, and I believe that even if science helps us discover the reasons for such mysterious love, only a mother’s heart can truly understand. Whether because of imprinting, attachment, or any other reason, we are capable of anything for them. We change, we improve, we cry, we change our lives completely, and even so, everything is rewarded by a child’s smile.
The above text by Michele Melão from Maternitycoach.com.br
Imprinting, My First Time!
I remember so well the first time I saw my children… I think for all mothers this first contact with the baby is very powerful. After waiting a long 9 months for the birth, when we finally see each other without any little screen in between, it is so real, so intense that it marks this phase. With Joana, the time I saw her was short, it was all very quick, but the love was just as intense as the other times. I fell intensely in love with those brown eyes the first time I saw her. With Dudu it was so much fun… He was making a mess even as he was born! As soon as the doctor took him out of my belly, he started pooping! But as soon as the doctor brought him to me, I knew that it was the best thing that could have happened to me.
Melissa was the impression of both her father and me, because for the first time, Marcos was able to take part in the birth of a child and for him it was as emotional as it was for me. Even though he didn’t have the hormonal aspect involved in imprinting, the birth hit him just as hard as it did me! Getting pregnant is an experience every woman should have; meeting your child for the first time is truly moving. With Joana, the contact was super quick and even so, it was love at first sight! I only learned what imprinting was recently, but I already knew it even before knowing the name; by the way, cuddling the baby at the breast is a very strong form of imprinting, and breastfeeding helps it happen even more deeply.
Patricia Amorim
See also: Five Reasons Why Mothers Should Sleep When the Babies Sleep
Photo: japeye, Martin Gommel