Bonding between a mother and a child happens in many ways. You start bonding with your little one, the moment you touch him/her or feel the skin. Putting your baby to sleep and feeding him/her gradually connects you two together. Even whilst you are pregnant the sudden movements made by your baby, inside the womb, and your voice connects both of you.
The first gaze and the eventual look-back you get from your child are priceless. This article talks about the ways and the modes by which a mother connects to her child.
Bonding through Cuddles
Research shows that when a mother cuddles her child there is some hormonal secretion inside the baby which makes him/her feel happy and safe. The skin-to-skin contact and the constant grooming, relaxes the child and makes them feel cared for, by their mothers.
The lack of touching and cuddles often makes a baby cranky and there are some adverse behavioral patterns observed. It is very important that the mother often makes direct skin connection with her little baby as it helps in the building of personality and confidence of the latter.
Smell of Mothers
It is not only through touch that a mother can bond with her child. Infants can very well identify the smell of their mothers and it helps in the creation of the bond. The overall behavior and the well-being of the child depend mostly on the number of times, in a day, the child gets to touch and smell its mother.
It is not only the baby who is affected by the smell. Pheromones secreted by the babies also make the mother happy. The mood and the well being of the mother also largely depends on the getting the smell of her child. In this way, the bond between the two gradually enriches.
Nourishing and Feeding
Breastfeeding is one of the most obvious ways by which a mother connects with her child. It is one of the primary sources of connection which makes a child attracted to his/her mother. When your primary caregiver becomes your feeder, it establishes a bond that stays for the lifetime.
Apart from feeding, the caresses and strokes that the mother offers her child, during the feeding process, also reassures the child to a great extent. He/she develops a trust that the mother will not abandon him/her and he/she can demand more with time.
Voice of Comfort
The mother’s voice and the sound of her heartbeat also help in the process of bonding with the child. The child is quick to recognize the warmth of the skin and the sound of the heartbeats of his/her mother.
The lullaby sung by the mother also helps in the creation of a known pattern for the child. Babies are normally helpless since they cannot do anything on their own. That is why a known touch, a known voice, and a known source of food often comfort them.
These the fundamental ways by which a mother bonds with her child during pregnancy and even after the birth.
Sources:
https://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/forming-a-bond-with-your-baby-why-it-isnt-always-immediate#1
https://www.parenting.com/article/the-new-science-of-mother-baby-bonding