Embracing Your Newborn: The Power Of Physical Affection

Holding a newborn can be scary for new parents, but it is important to remember that babies are not as fragile as they look. In fact, research has shown that human babies respond very positively to touch and holding, both physiologically and emotionally. They benefit from the warmth, smell, and voice of their mother or father, and this comfort makes them cry less. Holding a newborn also helps parents connect with their baby and be more sensitive to their cues. It is recommended that parents hold their newborns as much as possible, especially during the first few weeks of life, and opt for holding their baby in their arms or with a baby sling, wrap, or carrier instead of relying on baby gadgets.

Holding your newborn is important for their brain development

The importance of touch

Research has shown that human babies respond very positively to touch and holding, both physiologically and emotionally. Touch is crucial to a baby's development and has major benefits for their brain development. According to a 2017 study, babies who are touched gently show more brain response than those who are not. This means that the more you hold your baby, the more their brain will develop.

Bonding and security

Holding your newborn is also important for bonding and a sense of security. Being in your arms helps to build attachment and security, which gives your baby the confidence to explore and learn. In fact, studies show that babies who develop a sense of security from their caregivers in the first year will be more independent, self-confident and happier later.

Communication and responsiveness

Touch also helps to develop communication and enhances your ability to respond to your baby's needs. It's important to respond to your baby's cries and give them ample attention and physical touch. This is because, in the first few months, a baby is learning that the world is reliable and that their basic needs will be met.

Practical considerations

Of course, it's not possible to hold your baby 24 hours a day. You can opt for a baby sling or wrap to keep your baby close while having the use of your hands. It's also important to be aware of safe sleeping practices and to put your baby down on their back in a crib when you need a break or are feeling sleepy.

You can't hold a newborn too much

It's a common myth that you can hold a newborn too much or that doing so will spoil them. However, this is simply not true. According to child development experts, it is impossible to hold or respond to a baby too much.

The Benefits of Holding a Newborn

Holding a newborn has huge benefits for their brain development, especially for preemies. Research on mammal development has shown that babies crave physical closeness and touch, even over trying to find food. Touch is crucial to a baby's development and has major benefits for their brain development.

Bonding and Security

Holding your baby close promotes bonding and a sense of security. Research has found that infant-caregiver physical closeness activates oxytocin and certain nerve fiber pathways. Other studies have shown that touch helps develop communication, enhances the caregiver's ability to respond to their baby, and fosters bonding, secure attachments, and neurodevelopment.

Responding to Your Baby's Cues

When your baby cries, they are trying to communicate that their basic needs are not being met. They may be hungry, tired, lonely, or uncomfortable. Responding to these cues is not a matter of spoiling them, but rather meeting their needs. By paying attention to their cries, you are giving them a sense of security, comfort, nurturing, and warmth, which gives them the confidence to explore and learn.

Practical Considerations

While it is important to hold your newborn frequently, it is also essential to set them down in a safe place when you need a break or need to take care of yourself. This can include putting them down in their crib or passing them to another caregiver. Additionally, remember to follow safe sleep protocols by putting your baby to sleep on their back in their own crib, rather than holding them while you sleep, to reduce the risk of accidental suffocation and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Holding your newborn helps them feel secure

It is perfectly natural to worry about holding your newborn too much or too little, but it is important to remember that you cannot spoil a newborn by holding them. In fact, holding your newborn has huge benefits for their brain development and helps them feel secure.

The Benefits of Holding Your Newborn

Newborns benefit from the warmth of their parent's touch, as well as their smell and voice. Holding your baby helps you to connect with them and be sensitive to their cues. Research has shown that touch is crucial to a baby's development and can have a positive impact on their communication skills and neurodevelopment.

It is recommended that you hold your baby as often as you can, want to, and/or think is needed. Your newborn will communicate their needs to you through crying, and holding them will help you to understand what they need. Holding your baby will also provide them with comfort and a sense of security.

Safe Ways to Hold Your Newborn

It is important to support your newborn's head and neck, no matter how you are holding them. You can also try holding your baby like a football, with their back on your forearms and their head in the crook of your arm. This is a safe and sustainable way to hold a newborn, especially when sitting down.

Other Ways to Comfort Your Newborn

If holding your baby isn't doing the trick, there are other soothing techniques you can try. You can try gently stroking their head or patting their back or chest, or swaddling them in a receiving blanket. You can also try taking them for a walk, either in your arms or in a stroller, or playing a rhythmic noise like a fan or white noise machine.

You can't spoil a newborn by holding them

It's a common myth that holding a newborn too much will spoil them, but this is simply not true. In fact, holding your baby as much as possible in those early weeks can be beneficial for their development. Newborns have very positive responses to touch and holding, both physiologically and emotionally.

Benefits of holding your newborn

Holding your newborn helps them to respond to new stimuli in their environment and begin to self-regulate. It also helps them to develop a sense of security, comfort, nurturing and warmth, which gives them the confidence to explore and learn. Studies have shown that babies who develop this sense of security from their caregivers in the first year will be more independent, self-confident and happier later.

You can't hold your baby 24 hours a day, but it's important to hold them as much as possible, or have another loving relative hold them. Choose to rely less on baby gadgets, and opt to hold your baby in your arms or with a baby sling, wrap, or other carrier.

How to hold your newborn

When holding your newborn, it's important to support their head and neck, no matter the position. You can try holding them like a football, with their back on your forearms and their head nestled in the crook of your arm. This is a safe and sustainable way to hold a newborn, especially while sitting down.

Responding to your newborn's cries

When your baby cries, it's because they are hungry, tired, lonely or uncomfortable, and this is their only way of letting you know. It's not because they are trying to manipulate you, as they don't learn to do this until they are about 9 months old. By responding to their cries, you are meeting their needs, not spoiling them.

Skin-to-skin contact is important for newborns

Skin-to-skin contact is a key part of the UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative standards. It helps newborns adjust to life outside the womb and supports mothers to initiate breastfeeding and develop close, loving relationships with their baby.

Benefits of skin-to-skin contact for the newborn

• Regulates the baby's heart rate and breathing, helping them to better adapt to life outside the womb
• Stimulates digestion and an interest in feeding
• Regulates temperature
• Enables the baby's skin to be colonised with the mother's friendly bacteria, thus providing protection against infection
• Stimulates the release of hormones to support breastfeeding and mothering
• Improves oxygen saturation
• Reduces cortisol (stress) levels, particularly following painful procedures
• Encourages pre-feeding behaviour
• May reduce hospital stay
• Improves milk volume if the mother expresses following a period of skin-to-skin contact, with the expressed milk containing the most up-to-date antibodies
• Helps the baby to hear the comforting sound of the parent's heartbeat and voice, which will help calm and relax them
• Helps the baby form a strong attachment to the parent

Benefits of skin-to-skin contact for the mother

• Calms and relaxes the mother
• Initiates a surge of maternal hormones
• Supports the transition to breastfeeding, including the use of skin-to-skin contact to encourage instinctive feeding behaviour
• May lead to earlier expulsion of the placenta, reduced bleeding, and increased breastfeeding self-efficacy
• May lower maternal stress levels

Frequently asked questions