Bonding is the emotional closure of birth. Close contact between mother and baby is especially important for the healthy emotional development of the infant. The mother’s heartbeat is a crucial signal that relieves stress and creates emotional stability in the baby.
What is bonding?
Bonding is the emotional closure of birth. Close contact between mother and baby is especially important for the healthy emotional development of the infant. Bonding (attachment theory) is a psychological theory was developed as early as the 1940s by child psychiatrist John Bowlby, psychoanalyst James Robertson and psychologist Mary Ainsworth. The scientists considered the early mother-child relationship from emotional aspects, which was not common until then. Today, this theory is generally accepted. It was not until the 1970s that attachment theory became widespread in Germany and the rest of Europe. It is based on the assumption that people have an innate need to form close and emotionally intensive relationships with their fellow human beings. In bonding, closeness to the mother has top priority. Based on knowledge of the importance of early emotional bonding between mother and child, the newborn is placed directly on the mother’s abdomen after a complication-free birth. Mother and child, as well as the father present at the birth, are still under the influence of hormone releases. The three parties involved now slow down their heart rate and breathing and have a lower sensation of pain. It is at these moments that the love and bonding hormone oxytocin has its greatest impact.
Function and task
Because the baby is no longer under the influence of birth medications after birth, he or she responds with a wide range of emotions. Immediately, parents communicate with their child, intuitively achieve a state of serenity and intensively engage with the newborn. The baby is interested, joyful, surprised, and perhaps uncomfortable. The intensely experienced “skin on skin” phase is the actual bonding and should last at least two hours. The time is crucial for the newborn’s later bonding ability. Bonding promotes trust between mother, father and child. Therefore, parents should be able to be together with their child undisturbed directly after birth and demand this. Babies worldwide behave very similarly after birth. They seek warmth, protection, attention and security. Since babies cannot look after themselves, they need to find caregivers who will look after them as quickly as possible. As a rule, these are the parents. Now the bonding phase begins, in which the emotional bond between parents and child develops. About 10 minutes after birth, the baby opens its eyes, instinctively makes searching movements and perceives the smell of the parents. After about an hour, it begins to suckle at the breast. The mother also becomes softer and more affectionate under the influence of the hormone. At the same time, oxytocin promotes contractions of the uterus and rejection of the placenta. The tendency to bleed also decreases. When babies lie on their mother’s stomach, chest or arms for these first two hours, they cry extremely rarely. Skin contact between father and baby is equally important and strengthens their relationship. Overall, the entire first year of life is crucial for the baby’s emotional stability. During this time, cuddling and friendly eye contact are extremely important. These early experiences with the baby also shape the father’s emotional expressiveness, from which the whole family benefits. Bonding, figuratively speaking, acts like emotional glue. If it is missing, children show emotional difficulties later on.
Illnesses and ailments
A baby develops a sense of security primarily from experiencing how parents respond to its needs. The infant expresses its feelings through body language. Parents must learn to interpret this correctly. The most important thing in the early days is skin contact. Through the skin, parents and child memorize each other’s scent, and warmth conveys a sense of security to the baby. The intensity of the relationship depends on the intimacy experienced between parent and child. Physical closeness is important throughout the first year of life and can only be strengthened through constant contact, with parents learning to empathize with their child. People who lacked bonding later exhibit behaviors that babies with bonding do not.Studies showed that children who were not placed on their mother’s stomach immediately after birth were more restless. In contrast, securely attached babies subsequently showed more interest in their environment, were more balanced and had less fear of new things. The disruption in the first imprinting phase can affect the baby’s emotional balance and sense of belonging. If possible, separations between parents and the newborn should therefore be avoided, because the baby experiences the separation as violence and has feelings of emotional distress, of abandonment and hopelessness. The experience of not being responded to its existential needs can generate frustration, low self-worth, pain and aggression in later life. This may express itself in adult life in unhappy relationships, feelings of exclusion, and general dissatisfaction. Nevertheless, parents should not be put off if, for example, an acute illness prevents them from having immediate contact with the baby. While bonding sets an emotional course, it is not set in stone. Even later, there are always opportunities to make the relationship with the baby close and emotional.
