Hugging helps babies deal with aches and pains and speeds up healing.
The next time your little one wails in pain because of a tooth erupting, give him a nice warm hug. According to the US National Institute of Health both the baby and the mommy produce high levels of oxytocin while hugging and this in turn increases their tolerance for pain.
Hugging can even speed up healing because hugging produces hormones that allow for immune cells to thrive (immune cells are known to kill bacteria and viruses). So there is truth in kissing and hugging a baby’s boo boos away after all.
And it’s not just the baby who benefits from lots of cuddling. Even mommies reap rewards.
Hugging and physical contact facilitate the release of oxytocin according to an article for Scientific American. This has important benefits for the mommy.
“It reduces their stress level—they report lower levels of depression, they seem to be able to be more sensitive to their baby’s cues and the babies are more responsive to the mother through the whole first three months, ”says Professor Anne Begelow of St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia.
Excerpt from my article which I wrote for The Asian Parent
Mommyfied 