The Power of Touch: Why Skin-to-Skin Contact is Vital for Infants and Children

Introduction

In the 1950s, the American psychologist Harry Harlow provided a stark demonstration of the importance of a mother’s touch. He famously – and controversially – showed that rhesus monkeys would rather cling to a surrogate “mother” made of soft cloth than one made of metal wire that provided milk. A loving touch seemed to be more important than food, Harlow concluded.

The Benefits of Skin-to-Skin Contact

Today, the importance of touch has become firmly embedded in infant care. For example, UNICEF and the NHS recommend skin-to-skin contact between a parent and newborn. This involves placing a newborn on a parent’s bare chest, both of them covered in a warm blanket, for at least an hour after birth or until after the first feed.

Benefits for Newborns

Feeling the power of touch begins long before a baby is even born. Touch is the first sense to develop. Just eight weeks after conception, a foetus already responds to the sensation of touch in the womb – and it is crucial for people of any age.

By 14 weeks, twins have been observed on ultrasound sucking on each other’s fingers and exploring each other’s faces. And frame-by-frame analyses of ultrasound have shown that, by 20 weeks, foetuses respond to mothers touching their bellies.

The benefits of parental touch become clear at birth. One review of 52 studies involving over 4,000 newborns found that touch interventions – such as skin-to-skin contact and baby massage – was associated with better newborn health, including better regulation of temperature, breathing, and heart rate. The review also found that touch was more beneficial when it came from a parent compared to medical staff.

Long-term Effects of Skin-to-Skin Contact

Cuddle up, because there are other benefits of skin-to-skin contact. When a parent holds their baby in skin-to-skin contact after birth, it helps to calm the newborn and stimulates an interest in feeding. In the longer term, daily skin-to-skin contact with infants improves sleep patterns and pain tolerance, supports healthy weight gain and continued breastfeeding, and strengthens brain development.

Benefits for Premature Infants

Premature infants also benefit from skin-to-skin contact. For example, one review of kangaroo care – skin-to-skin contact for premature or low birth-weight infants – found that it reduced the risk of death, infection, and low body temperature, and improved weight gain and rates of breastfeeding.

Touch and Bonding

Skin-to-skin contact also triggers the release of the hormone oxytocin, often referred to as the “love hormone,” which encourages bonding between the parent and infant. Skin-to-skin contact also lowers levels of the hormone cortisol, which helps newborns to regulate levels of stress.

Touch and Mental Health

The benefits of touch are not exclusively experienced by the newborn. Studies have found that daily skin-to-skin contact with their babies can reduce symptoms of postpartum stress, depression, and anxiety in mothers. And while most studies have focused on mothers, skin-to-skin contact also seems to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety in fathers.

Long-term Effects of Touch

Some of the effects of touch are more difficult to quantify. For example, the psychiatrist Donald Winnicott described how a mother’s touch helps infants and young children to experience the body as “the place where one securely lives.” This idea seems to be supported by ethnographic records and anthropological studies of communities where infants are in close contact with a caregiver.

Touch in Childhood

Studied have also shown that touch – particularly caring touch like hugging from a parent or other caregivers, such as teachers – can support psychological development and wellbeing. For instance, touch can help children develop a sense of emotional security, belonging, and feelings of support, especially in stressful situations.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the importance of touch is clear. From the womb to old age, touch plays a vital role in our physical and emotional development. It is time to challenge outdated ideas about the importance of touch and to recognize its significance in our lives.

FAQs

Q: What is the importance of skin-to-skin contact in infancy?
A: Skin-to-skin contact is crucial for newborn health, as it promotes better regulation of temperature, breathing, and heart rate, and is associated with better outcomes.

Q: What are the benefits of touch for premature infants?
A: Touch interventions, such as kangaroo care, reduce the risk of death, infection, and low body temperature, and improve weight gain and rates of breastfeeding in premature or low birth-weight infants.

Q: How does touch affect mental health?
A: Skin-to-skin contact can reduce symptoms of postpartum stress, depression, and anxiety in mothers, and also seems to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety in fathers.

Q: What are the long-term effects of touch?
A: Daily skin-to-skin contact with infants improves sleep patterns and pain tolerance, supports healthy weight gain and continued breastfeeding, and strengthens brain development.