Getting to know your baby

Building a close and loving relationship between parents and baby is crucial for infant development. During pregnancy and the first two years of life your baby’s brain is growing and changing rapidly. Nurturing this brain growth by responding, stimulating, and comforting your baby will ensure your baby becomes a happy, healthy, and secure adult.

In pregnancy, responding to baby’s movements, stroking, talking, and singing to your bump stimulates oxytocin and promote brain growth. Get partners and siblings involved too!

When greeting your baby for the first time hold them in skin to skin contact and keep them close. This regulates baby’s temperature, heart rate and breathing rate, helps baby feel secure, gets maternal bonding hormones flowing, and helps get breastfeeding off to a good start. If you choose to formula feed giving the first feed in skin to skin is also extremely beneficial. Skin to skin contact can also enhance baby’s microbiome by transferring your good bacteria to improve gut health.

In the early months, keeping your baby close and responding to your baby’s needs for food and comfort will help them feel secure.  It is a myth that babies become spoilt and demanding if they are given too much love and attention. Stimulating your baby by talking, smiling, and cuddling them will stimulate oxytocin and promote brain growth.

Head back to our infant feeding page for further information and resources.