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Article #56: Mother Love

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Scientific studies conclude something reassurance. This bathes tissues in love
mothers everywhere have always hormones and encourages development of
intuitively known - that the unique love healthy neural connections, particularly
they have for their offspring is vitally as the synaptic connections in the cortex
important to their development. A develop for the first two years of life.
mother's love and nurturing even directly There is also heart-to-heart, quite
impacts the biological development of the literally, between mother and child.
child's brain and central nervous system. Heart muscle cells not only contract, but
In effect, mother and child are also communicate with one another.
"hard-wired" for mutual love. The brain Isolating one cell from the heart in a
is like a template designed to await petri dish causes it to lose its rhythm
molding by its early environment. One and begin to fibrillate until it dies.
researcher even wrote that hugs and Putting two cells in proximity to one
kisses during the early critical periods another causes them to synchronize and
assist in making neurons grow and connect beat in unison. There is an unseen and
properly with other neurons. as yet unmeasured communication between
Throughout childhood, warm human love and living cells. The beating of the
touch generate an internal release of mother's heart and her breathing pattern
addicting and pleasurable opiates. Even coordinate in a critical way with the
teenagers (who may act as if they don't infant's internal rhythms. This is part
need the parents at all) must receive of what is known as a synchronizing
ongoing neural synchrony - love - from hormonal flow that occurs between mother
the parents. The brain and heart appear and child (directly from breast milk and
literally designed for love, with also from loving contact and even from
happiness and even health depending on proximity and thought) that help to
it. regulate vital rhythms in the child.
The pituitary hormone, oxytocin, is Mothers instinctively place their babies
present during all loving acts but most to their left breast, keeping their two
especially at birth where it serves to hearts close. The mother's developed
stimulate uterine contractions, and heart actually stimulates the newborn
during nursing for the milk ejection heart activating a dialogue between the
reflex. It, along with the nursing two hearts and minds. Mother and child
hormone, prolactin, help create that are more appropriately considered as one,
intense feeling of love shared by mother rather than two separate entities as they
and child. Endorphins are physiological bond while the child is being held and
chemicals that are also released in both nursed.
the mother and child during loving These interesting links that science is
contact. They create a feel-good high revealing between mother and child are
for both and thus play a critical role in another proof that all life is holistic
encouraging affection and dependency. and intimately interconnected. The ideal
When bonding fails, it is theorized that holistic model is that which nature
the absence of these pleasure chemicals presents and it is clear that mother and
can leave a void, making such children child are meant to be intimate. Children
especially susceptible to drugs that can cannot simply be cast off to be fed,
also release such pleasure chemicals. The clothed and housed as if that were
stress hormone cortisol is also released enough. Society needs to take note of
when touch and love are lacking. Sensory this important biology as more and more
deprivation in mother-absent children - a pressure is put on modern families and
form of stress that stimulates the mothers to treat newborns as just another
release of cortisol - can increase duty to schedule into the appointment
susceptibility to abnormalities such as book or to have serviced by a third
depression, violence, substance abuse, party. By giving love the respect it
and even impaired immune response. deserves and making it the starting point
The most natural way mothers deal with of life, the odds are much greater that
newborns in the majority of the world is love will then blossom in children and be
with an in-arms approach. In more carried through to their children...and,
primitive cultures where mothers are who knows, perhaps continue on to the
barely allowed a break from work to give world at large. We could use a lot of
birth, babies are swaddled to the body that.
creating constant contact and






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