According
to a study done by a team of scientists in Japan’s Riken Brain Science
Institute, carrying your baby is the most effective way to quiet your
child. They attached heart rate monitors
to twelve healthy babies and monitored them as their mother’s carried them, sat
with them, and laid them in a crib. They
found that when the mothers picked them up, they relaxed immediately.
The team
of scientist repeated this experiment with mouse pups. The young mice also calmed when their mothers
picked them up and carried them. When
the scientists numbed the necks of the mice so they couldn’t feel their mothers
carrying them, they squirmed and struggled.
In the wild, this is important for animals. If the mother needs to make a quick escape,
she might have to leave hard to hold babies behind.
This is the
first study to examine the physiological effects of carrying babies. When infants cry when put down, it’s not to
manipulate their parents. Infant’s heart
rates rise when they’re parents stop carrying them, almost like a reflexive
mechanism. I found this article
interesting because I recently met my cousin’s newborn baby. Whenever the baby was picked up, he
immediately quieted.
NOS Themes:
Collaborative- A team of scientists conducted this
experiment
Motivation and Curiosity- The scientists were interested in
the physiological effects of carrying babies
Based on Evidence- The experiment
was repeated with human babies and mice
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