Mother/infant skin-to-skin touch boosts baby's brain development and function

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-03/fau-mst032420.php

News Release 25-Mar-2020
Florida Atlantic University

As the world prioritizes social distancing to stop or slow down the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), a new study by researchers at Florida Atlantic University demonstrates that mother-infant touch and contact are essential for optimal neurodevelopmental regulation in early infancy. Kangaroo Care, a skin-to-skin, chest-to-chest method of caring for a baby, especially one who is premature, has been associated with promoting neurophysiological development. This method of caring emphasizes the importance of holding the naked or partially dressed baby against the bare skin of a parent, typically the mother. New research is showing that extended use of Kangaroo Care can positively benefit full-term infants and their mothers during the post-partum period.

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Findings showed that the infants' left frontal area of the brain (implicated in higher-order cognitive and emotional regulatory skills) appears to be stimulated from the Kangaroo Care method. In addition, mother/infant dyads showed increased oxytocin along with decreases in stress reactivity, suggesting regulatory abilities are prompted by experiences with positive caregiving in infancy.

Results from the study indicate that Kangaroo Care training and level of use by caregivers during infancy can favorably influence both neurodevelopmental trajectories and infant neurobiological functioning.

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