Science of Parenting: Hug your baby for the lil’ one’s good health

Mothers have different ways of bringing up a baby, but they shouldn’t forget to hug their bundle of joy, say experts. Prerna Kohli, clinical pyschologist, and Sharad Tandon, cardiologist, say that there are emotional benefits that hugs have for your babies. 

If you snuggle your child for a couple of minutes before they doze off, you are ensuring a good sleep for him or her and yourself. Hugging relaxes the body and has therapeutic effects that help a child sleep better.  

A child who is hugged, feels relaxed and safe as the levels of cortisol (the stress hormone) decrease with this physical expression of love. 

Snuggles and cuddles in which the participants’ hearts get pressed against each other boost the immunity by promoting the production of white blood cells by stimulating the thymus gland. This will help to keep your child healthy and free from diseases.  

Do you know that hugs help heal diseases? This again is attributed to the release of oxytocin. For this reason, parents of premature babies are encouraged to have skin-on-skin contact to help them grow and develop. This very reason is advocated by experts who swear that a new mother heals quickly after delivery if she is immediately left with her baby undisturbed.