How Important Is Physical Contact With Your Infant? Essay Example

The number of orphanages has been increasing with time making most of the children to grow up in strange environments that are devoid of parental emotions as well as touch. According to the studies so far conducted, it has become evident that majority of the children who are not able to access sufficient emotional as well as physical attention from their parents are highly predisposed to social, emotional as well as behavioral problems in the course of their development. This trend has an important implication to the long term effects on the environment of early childhood coupled with the changes that the brain should pass through at that particular period of time. This issue affects below surface of the children in which case the children who grow up under deprived environment including the orphanages tend to develop problems in sufficiency of hormones as compared to their counterparts who are raised in an environment of care from the parents until they go beyond baby years.

The skin contact between the mother and the baby plays a crucial role in the development process of the baby. During the early days of the newborn child, the contact of the skin is important in calming the child. The child cries less and sleeping is enhanced. This in turn helps in facilitating of the brain of the child due to the calm environment and better sleep. Infants who are brought up by fast imitating mothers are also likely to develop at faster rates. Talkative and smiley mothers influence the development of their babies positively.

The children who are deprived the physical and emotional affection to their mothers at early stages commonly develops reduced levels of vasopressin as well as oxytocin. These are crucial hormones that facilitate social as well as emotional bonding. A number of environmental as well as biological factors play a crucial role in shaping the developmental process of a child. These factors can hardly be isolated during scientific research involving the children because of the diverse genetic predisposition as well as experiences. Most people who have adopted children from orphanage have reported troublesome behavior and delayed development in the children. This trend has motivated most researchers to find more facts on the relationship between contact deprivation and proper development of the children. Consequently, scientists have established the positive contribution of skin to skin contact between the mother and the child to the development of the child as well as consistency in emotional engagement in self-recognition as well as speeding the development of the child. These are special behaviors that arise without the consciousness of the parents and they play a crucial role in the developmental stages of the child as well the future wellbeing of the child. It is definite that something happenes between the mother and the child in the course of their skin contact. The mother releases extra oxytocin while the baby relaxes and sleeps. The transition from a restrictive environment needs sufficient comfort and the hearing of the heartbeat of the mother is a good source of such comfort. A combination of environmental and genetic factors therefore plays a crucial role in this process