Have you wondered about the healing power that touch has? We clearly see and appreciate how lovingly babies, puppies, kittens and most mammals respond to touch. Essentially, words are not even necessary when touch can express feelings and empathy in intimate connections. In humans, the skin has sensory receptors that transmit information to the brain. Through these receptors we are able to discern between safe and unsafe touch.
Even before birth, when in the womb, touch is the first sense that a baby develops, starting from the first trimester, the foetus senses its safe space and its connection with its mother when she touches and strokes her abdomen. The foetus actually responds by reaching and touching the uterus wall when the mother is contacting her belly… An attuned mother is aware of the foetus, senses it’s heartbeat, kicks and every movement and constantly communicates with the unborn baby,speaks with it in gentle, soothing words, and expressing her love and joy.
When a baby is born, the first sense that it experiences is touch. Touch is the most important experience from the moment of birth. Touch is how a baby communicates its needs, bonds with its caregivers and explores its environment. Touch is vital for a baby’s physical, emotional and cognitive development. From birth to three years, a baby depends on its caregiver/parent to regulate its nervous system. Attuned moms know just by hearing their cries, if the baby requires to be changed, fed, rocked to sleep etc. Touch is vital for the development of a healthy immune system!
Tactile stimulation, according to researchers, reduces stress level in the infant as well as the mother (Neu, Laudenslager, & Robinson, 2008).
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