Saturday, April 20, 2013

Shh Baby, I'll Carry You


            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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