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At the beginning of life a baby and mother are one.  Her body contained the baby’s body and she nourishes and protects her baby.  Most significantly there is an unbroken continuity between who she is and who the baby is.  Even after the baby is born, her proximity guarantees the baby’s well-being.  If the baby is hungry or cold or frightened, she feeds, clothes and soothes the baby.  By performing these ostensibly simple tasks the mother begins the process by which the baby feels safe within the boundaries of its own body.  As the baby grows, the baby learned to explore and more importantly learns how to trust and to find its way in the world as an independent person.

Imprinting

The phenomenon of visual imprinting – by which a child recognizes its parents – has been clearly identified in animals and is said to occur as soon as a newly born or hatched offspring sees its mother. 

Although visual imprinting is important for human infants, babies begin to focus intently upon objects and to discriminate between them only when they are about six weeks old.  The role of other senses in imprinting had also been investigated.  Because the auditory system has developed by the time the fetus is about 30 weeks old, it has been suggested that the baby in the womb becomes imprinted with the sound of its mother’s heartbeat.  It has been suggested, too that the fetus is responsive to vibrations, some generated by sound and others due to the slight rocking of the amniotic fluid when the mother’s heart beats.  One study found that newborns could distinguish the sound of their own mother’s voice from other sounds when they were less than 24 hours old.

Bonding

Although the degree to which imprinting occurs when the baby is in the womb is difficult to confirm, it is well known that many pregnant women feel a deep bond with their as yet unknown infant.  For many therapists and researchers, the attachment that form between the mother and baby known as ‘bonding’ is important and is thought to be encouraged when a mother holds and strokes her baby immediately after he or she has been born.  Because early contact with her baby seems to bolster a mother’s confidence, many researchers think that she will be more responsive to her vulnerable baby’s needs. 

Bonding is thus important for an infant’s subsequent emotional development.

Late Bonding

Mothers separated from their babies soon after the birth, for what ever reason, often worry that the chance for mutual bonding with their newborn child will have been lost forever.  A mother may fear that her child will suffer from this early separation or that her relationship with her will be irreparably damaged.  However, research suggests that bonding can take place later, but it may take longer to establish.

What Creates Bonding?

If you are a new parent, you may feel slightly apprehensive about establishing a rapport with an infant.  These simple guidelines may help.

• Touching is probably the most important way of communicating with a newborn.  Holding your child, gently stroking or rocking him or her, is extremely reassuring to your child.
• Talking softly to your baby will not only enable him or her to recognize your voice, it will also encourage your child to imitate the sounds you make.  Your child will thus learn words and use them more easily.
• Gazing fondly at your child is something that most caregivers do quite naturally.  The more eye contact caregivers provide, the more a baby is stimulated.  His or her response to other people will also be greater.