As soon as a baby is born, the doctor puts it over the chest of its mother. This very first instance of mother-child bonding goes a long way in creating a strong relationship between the two. The subtle smell of the new born babies has been proven to elicit a positive impact in the mothers. It is also seen that the mothers who cuddle their babies a lot suffers from postpartum depression relatively lesser than other mothers. When one snuggles against the soft bodies of the babies, the deep seated emotions see an overwhelming surge resulting in the secretion of good feel hormones. Warm heads of the babies with fuzzy hair with a fresh fragrance evokes a lot of emotions among new mothers who are simply jolted by the surging love they suddenly experience for their babies.
Recently, a study was conducted to understand the relationship between new born baby’s scent and the positive impact on their mothers at the University of Montreal. It was found that in many mothers the first smell of their babies stays with them for a long time even when they join their jobs back. The smell is too captivating to be ignored and thus it lingers with them wherever they go. It seems as if this particular smell has been getting registered in their minds forever. This gives them a happy and relaxed feeling which they seem to enjoy. This visceral feeling also helps in their muscles feeling relaxed. It is as if a drug has been consumed that helps in getting a heady feeling.
New born’s smell registers in the brain’s pleasure center of a new mother. Scientists have not been able to find whether this smell is emanating from the newborns or from any other source, but is closely related to mothers who have recently delivered their babies. Our brain is just like a complicated machine, if we are feeling hungry, certain parts of the brain get activated that inform us that we need to eat something. This is just like an intense craving. Same goes with this smell. Some parts of the brain get activated with this heavenly smell that seems to be emanating from their new burns and they start associating it with their babies. This is just like a tool provided by the nature that helps in developing strong bonds between a mother and a baby. This bond goes a long way in cementing this most beautiful relationship in the world.
The study was conducted on 30 women. Fifteen women had given birth to their babies just 3-6 weeks earlier and the remaining fifteen never had a baby. A brain scanner was used for these women when they were presented by the scent of a new born baby or fresh air by the scientists. The newborn essence was captured by the scientists by using T-shirts worn by the new born’s for 2 days and then retaining that smell by freezing them in plastic containers till it was required for the experiment. All women experienced this smell and reported the same, but the difference in the scans between women who were new mothers and the women who had never given birth was clearly evident.
