Baby and mother

Science says: There’s no such thing as holding your baby too much

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A recent study has revealed the effects of light touch versus painful procedures on the brain development of newborns.

How could this possibly be wrong? Image: iStock.

Have you ever been told you’re ‘spoiling’ your baby by holding them too much? Or that you’re ‘making a rod for your own back’ by cuddling them too much?

I get this. A lot. Particularly from the older generation that can have fairly old-fashioned beliefs and no hesitation in sharing their unwanted advice with mothers of young children.

Baby cuddles

Ignore the nay-sayers and cuddle those babies. Image: iStock.

Science says they’re wrong

According to a recent study published in Current Biology, a baby cannot possibly be held ‘too much’.

This study examined 125 full-term and preterm babies. It focused on their brain activity following positive light touch and painful procedures.

The results showed that supportive experiences involving positive touch such as breastfeeding and skin-to-skin contact are associated with stronger brain responses. In contrast, painful procedures such as skin punctures and tube insertions were associated with reduced brain responses to positive touch.

The study concluded that experiences around the time a baby is born “may shape the somatosensory scaffolding of later perceptual, cognitive, and social development”. In short, positive touch in a baby’s early days can have long term benefits to their brain development. This is particularly important for preterm babies who are often subject to move painful procedures.

Limitations

The study did not, however, factor in pain relief when assessing brain responses to painful procedures. It also did not measure the intensity of the pain experienced by the baby.

baby sleeping

Snuggle, inhale, wear, cuddle your baby all you like! Image: iStock.

We’ll take it though!

It really doesn’t matter if someone accuses you of spoiling your baby or suggests that you shouldn’t be cuddling them so much. It’s your baby, you make up your own decisions about how much affection you dole out to them.

Pick up your bundle of joy and inhale that sweet baby scent if you feel so inclined. Because one day they’re going to be teenagers who won’t want a bar of Mum’s embrace. Take it while you can and take it guilt free!

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۱۵ ways to help out a new mum

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Dear everyone, this is what we really want when we’ve just had a baby.

Source: Stocksy

 

Look, I’m going to get straight to the point. New mums are not really interested in you, but they are very interested in what you can bring to the table. The one in the dining room.

It’s nothing personal, but in those dreamy weeks after a new baby is born, 90 per cent of mum’s attention is devoted to that baby. Seven percent is devoted to wondering when she can get up and do a wee, and the remaining three  percent goes towards trying to move the teacup within reach while breastfeeding.

But this does not make you – the lovely, trusted, friend that you are – redundant. Not by any means. There are so many things that you can do to make a new mum feel supported and loved in her most sleep deprived hours of need.

We asked a whole bunch of veteran baby makers what they really valued in their early days of parenthood. Here’s what they recommend:

۱٫ Bring food

Organic veggie boxes are all well and good, but what new mums really want is food they don’t have to make themselves. Can it be stored, microwaved and eaten out of the container? She’ll take it!

 

New mum hamper

She just wants some comfort food that’s easy to eat. Source: Kidspot

 

 

۲٫ Give us some shower time

Just come, cuddle the baby and make soothing sounds so that new mum can stand under running water for ten minutes without having a panic attack. Thank you!

۳٫ Grab the bread and milk

Or whatever she needs. A simple text from the supermarket to see if she needs anything would be wonderful.

۴٫ Just listen without judgement

She doesn’t need that judgement and she doesn’t want your advice. She just wants to sob uncontrollably down the phone to someone who will remind her that it will  be OK, over and over again.

 

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She probably hasn’t had a warm tea in weeks. Source: Kidspot

 

۵٫ Wash the tea cups

New babies tend to  attract many visitors, and they’re not all as switched on as you. Many arrive, drink some tea, eat a biscuit and then leave – a sinkful of dishes remaining in their wake. So when you visit, please wash the teacups! She will love you for it,

۶٫ GIVE HER CHOCOLATE

No explanation necessary.

۷٫ Give her a break – from her other children

New mums who are new for the second, third or even tenth time crave uninterrupted, guilt-free space with their youngest. Often the best thing you can do is come over and take the other kids out of the picture. Tucker them out so they come home and sleep!

۸٫ Bring a box of nappies or wipes

She can never have enough, she’s ALWAYS running out. That emergency box will be her little saviour.

۹٫ Don’t ask, just launder

Really, she has so much of it, she’s positively drowning in laundry. She’ll never ask you to do it for her, because even thinking about it brings on a sense of desolation and hopelessness. Just scope the house, find the washing machine and put on a load. She’ll be thanking you on the inside.

۱۰٫ Keep it brief

She loves you and she’s desperate to see other adults, but having visitors is exhausting for everyone. So be a darl and don’t hang around all day (unless you’re actually cleaning the whole house and changing the bed sheets. THAT would be lovely).

 

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She may have trouble stringing a sentence together, but she still loves to listen. Source: Kidspot

 

۱۱٫ Take her for a walk

If bub is too young to be away from mum’s arms for more than 20 seconds, going for a walk with her is often the best and simplest blessing. Those jaunts round the block can quickly get boring, so your company could make her day.

۱۲٫ Remember, it’s not all about the baby

The baby only wants mum, but mum needs YOU. Just having someone to offer her tea, make her laugh and chat about inane things is amazing therapy for the heart.

۱۳٫ Give her a massage

If it’s early days, having someone rock up with oils and a pair of strong hands is basically every postpartum mum’s fantasy. Having a new baby wreaks havoc on her neck, shoulders and hips. Whether the masseuse is you, or if you get a bunch of mates to chip in for a massage voucher, she will be eternally grateful.

۱۴٫ Pass her the remote

Look, she’s tired, so very, very tired. Sometimes the best thing you can do is put the TV remote in her hand, make sure she has water, tea and a snack within reach, and leave her to it. Go clean the toilet or something. Heaven.

۱۵٫ If in doubt, do what these guys did

Kidspot writer, Bek Day shared this – and it’s perfect: “The best visitors we had brought two frozen meals for our freezer, their own morning tea, paper plates, coffees for everyone and a soothing face mask for me. They stayed for half an hour, took all their rubbish with them and then sent us all these beautiful photos they’d taken of us with Frankie without being asked.” Those guests can come anytime.

 

How to interpret your baby’s sucking patterns

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Learn how to interpret baby’s sucking patterns with this easy guide from lactation consultant and baby nurse expert Rowena Bennett.

“I don’t think I have enough milk,” claimed Rachel.

“What makes you think this?’ I asked while eyeing her gorgeous and obviously well nourished, six-week old baby, Harrison.

“It takes over an hour for him to feed. He will keep sucking until he’s asleep. No sooner do I put him down and he’s awake again, crying until he has my breast in his mouth.”

Like many mothers, Rachel mistakenly believed her baby was actively feeding the entire time he was attached to her breast. But this was not the case. Harrison was comfort sucking for much of the time.

Babies display three types of sucking patterns during a breastfeed. By recognising these and understanding what is occurring with each, you can decide if you want to allow your baby to comfort suck at your breast or take him off once he has finished actively feeding and provide for his sucking needs in another way.

۱٫ ‘Call up’ or stimulation sucking

Once your baby is properly attached to your breast he will suck quickly (around two sucks per second), but strongly. This triggers your milk ejection reflex (let-down), which may take a few seconds or up to a minute.

۲٫ Nutritive sucking (active feeding)

As your milk lets-down, baby will begin to actively feed. His sucking rhythm decreases to a rate of around one suck per second. You will be able to see or hear him swallowing after every suck or two, initially. As milk is depleted from your breast he won’t swallow as frequently. This is normal. The longer into the feed the richer more calorie-dense your milk becomes.

۳٫ Non-nutritive sucking (comfort or flutter sucking)

Non-nutritive sucking involves fast shallow sucks, two sucks per second. These are unlike the strong sucks baby does during ‘call-up’ and nutritive sucking. Baby’s sucking movement feels like a flutter or quiver. You will probably not see or hear any swallowing. Some milk transfer can still occur during comfort sucking, but this is generally minimal. Mothers often describe non-nutritive sucking as baby ‘using me like a dummy.’

Milk ejection (let-down) occurs several times during a single breastfeed. Your baby may alternate back and forth between nutritive and comfort sucking depending on the milk flow rates before and after each let-down.

Once your baby’s hunger has been satisfied he will release your nipple and pull back from your breast or continue to comfort suck. Some babies will comfort suck until they fall deeply asleep and their mother’s nipple slips from their mouth.

This article describes the typical sucking patterns of breastfed babies. However, your baby can, and most likely will, display other behaviour during breastfeeds from time to time.