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Most events throughout a persons life are marked by some sort of memory usually relating to the touch or feel of something.
Who doesn't remember the feeling of your mothers arms wrapped around you, giving you a great big hug to show she cared?
These feelings of another's touch start long before we can remember them. It is one of our first senses to develop usually at about 7
to 8 weeks of gestation.While infants are maturing within their mother's womb they are utilizing touch. Kicking, hiccupping, and moving around. The infant on the other hand is also feeling it's mother, through each breath and heart beat. So in many ways our first form of communication was touch, and we use these same techniques to communicate throughout life.
Recently at Montreal Children's Hospital Ronald Barr, MD, of the Child Development Program concluded through a study that infants will cry less of they are touched more. Dr. Barr found that by increasing the amount of touch between mother and child with even just one - two hours a day that the amount of crying significantly decreased. Not only does this create happier memories, but also builds a stronger connection and love between mother and baby.
Extremely premature and ventilated babies may not have the strength or ability to demonstrate these needs. Because of the fact that these tiny infants are so small and undeveloped they are most often taken away from their mother for the first few days or even weeks of life. These preemies do not even get the chance to be loved and cuddled like other full term babies by their parents. In past years many doctors and nurses have been reluctant to touch or handle these fragile infants.Although research has suggested that while these children were being provided the best physical care they were also on the other hand being emotionally ignored. In recent years research lead by Tiffany Field has shown a strong and direct relationship in the amount of touch a premature infants receives as to the progress of growth the infant exhibits both mentally and physically.
