Babytalk | A baby’s bond with its mother may start with the sense of smell
One of my favorite things to do is show mothers how their baby can smell them from as far away as 1 to 2 feet. I will hold the baby and engage the baby with my eyes, while telling the mother to watch what happens. The baby always turns her head after a few seconds and looks towards the mother. The baby can find her mother simply by smelling her. Babies can focus their eyes only about 8 to 10 inches, but they can smell from a much further distance.
How does this happen? We know that the nasal cavities are developed as early as the 2nd month in the womb. Smelling and tasting begins early during fetal development.
By the fifth month of development in the womb the baby is swallowing and sucking. Babies swallow about a half liter of amniotic fluid every 24 hours. The amniotic fluid is then digested by the baby. The nutrients enter the baby’s blood. The baby filters out nutrients back to the mother via the umbilical cord. The mother’s blood transports it to her kidneys and eliminates the waste. This is one of the reasons testing the mother’s urine during pregnancy is so important. By testing the mother’s urine we have an idea how both the mother and the baby are doing.
After birth, the umbilical cord is cut. The umbilical cord has been the baby’s source of nutrition, connection to momma, her lifeline. It is no wonder that the baby now relies on that early development of smell to find the smell that she has always known. We also know that in the first few days after birth the mother’s body produces a sweat similar in scent to amniotic fluid. Taking into account that the baby has been able to suck and swallow since around five months, it just makes sense that when you put the baby on the mother’s chest after birth that the baby would find her way to where her next site of nutrition is, the mother’s breast.
A few years ago everyone was talking about the role pheromones play in stimulating attraction to another person. Pheromones are hormones that are in our sweat. It is believed that we are attracted to others who have a pheromone that is pleasing to our sense of smell. Are all relationships based on a combination of biology and chemistry? It would be hard to deny that assumption.
Watching a new mother and baby in the first few days after delivery it is amazing to witness them examine each other with their senses of touch, vision and taste. Our adopting mothers go through the same progression of holding and smelling.
There sure a lot of pheromones, what some call the love hormone, going on with these couplets. What a privilege it is to witness these new relationships follow their instinct to connect with each other.
Katie Powers, R.N., is a board-certified lactation consultant and perinatal educator at Manatee Memorial Hospital’s Family BirthPlace. Her column appears every other week in the Bradenton Herald. Contact her at katie.powers@mmhhs.com.