After nine months of pregnancy including the hard work and discomfort, disruption to your lives and the pain of conception, a baby has disrupted a couple’s lives and will continue to do so for many years to come.
You as the mother have possibly worked the hardest you have ever worked to give birth, it is unsurprising if you don’t have the ‘Aaahhhh’ moment immediately but very soon the bond builds and uncompromising love gets stronger to levels you have never experienced before .
So why does that wrinkly little lump make our hearts melt the way they do?
The love hormone (oxytocin) in mothers increases during late pregnancy and continues after birth, fathers also have the same level of oxytocin in the first month after birth, helping you both to fall in love with your baby and protect it during the most vulnerable part of its life.
Research recently carried out by Dr Feldman, an Israeli Neuroscientist, found that the more parents do with their baby, the more their oxytocin levels will activate.
The good news is that although in those first few days, particularly if you have had a traumatic birth, it may not feel how you imagined it would but it will get better. The love hormone (Oxytocin) is supporting you to protect and nurture your baby. Interaction with your child helps you and your partner to maintain the high levels of love hormone and thereby develop a stronger bond in the days and weeks ahead.
7 Professional Genie Tricks (Progenitrix)
1. Start talking to your bump and encourage your partner to join in.
2. Massage your bump together and discussing positive plans for the future.
3. Once baby is born take turns holding baby to your bare chest (Kangaroo care).
4. When baby is awake make eye contact and look deeply into its eyes.
5. Smell is very important both ways for bonding, so make sure you keep your perfumes and aftershaves light so baby can smell your unique fragrance.
6. When baby is awake focus on baby not your mobile phone.
7. Priority at this time should be recovery and adapting to family life, so don’t stress about anything else such as state of the house, or cooking, etc.
Contact me if you would like help and support to enhance all your interactions for the benefit of you and your baby.