Do You Know The Amazing Benefits Of Cuddling Your Babies?

Remember the time when the doctor gives your newborn to you just so you can cocoon the little one closer to yourself? That’s the moment of warmth where you lay your eyes upon your bundle of joy. Then onwards, both your husband and you would have not been able to resist getting snuggly and cuddly with your bubs.

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We don’t blame you! Besides being fuzzy and warm with your baby, cuddling is now a major research topic among scholars and recent studies proved that cuddling has amazing benefits on babies. Hence, it is safe to say that cuddling your babies is a science-backed pamper session you can have with your baby without worries. 

However, do you know the amazing benefits of cuddling your babies? Don’t be alarmed, as we have scoured reliable websites and research papers to list you the advantages of hugging and kissing your babies. 

#1 Cuddling eases pain

It’s a natural instinct for children to raise their hands, as a gesture of asking to be carried when they are hurt. Similarly, babies cry as a means to be carried and comforted by their parents. Recent research by the University of Oxford and Liverpool John Moores University on 32 babies had proved that gentle strokes on babies act as pain relief. 

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It is found that gentle strokes on your cherubs reduce the activity in their brain that is associated with painful experiences. Hence why, Professor Slate said, “If we can better understand the neurobiological underpinnings of techniques like infant massage, we can improve the advice we give to parents on how to comfort their babies."

#2 Enables eye contact

Dear parents, here’s a fun fact; the last sense to be fully formed is the eyesight. At birth, a baby can only focus on things that are within a radius of 25 cm. Ironically, it’s the perfect distance from your face to their eyes when you are holding them. 

(Image credit to The Hans India)

Remember, eye contact is vital for your little bubs as studies have shown that it plays a major role in their brain development and bonding. By simply cuddling and gazing into their eyes, would work magic on their cognitive system where parents’ direct gaze allows babies to associate and learn in the process. 

#3 Cuddling leads to bonding 

What is the relationship between oxytocin and cuddling? Trust us when we say that this is one of the amazing benefits of cuddling your babies. When parents cuddle their tiny tots, both the parents and babies release a hormone called oxytocin, or more commonly known as the love-cuddle hormone. The oxytocin hormone is tightly bound to parenthood!