• Question: Bonjour! How do we know when we are born where/who our mum is? Thanks

    Asked by fjaafar to Arttu, Ceri, James_M, Monica, Philip on 22 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Arttu Rajantie

      Arttu Rajantie answered on 22 Jun 2011:

      I am not really an expert on this, but I have three kids so I have some personal experience. I am pretty sure human babies do not know who their mother is. But even newborns have instincts that tell them what to do, and they do actively try to find a breast and latch on to it. After some time they develop a bond to whoever is feeding them, but this does not happen immediately like for some animals. Of course, the mother has instincts too, and they are automatically doing things that help the baby bond to them. We dads can sometimes feel a bit lost because nature is not telling us what to do and we have to figure it out ourselves…

    • Photo: Ceri Brenner

      Ceri Brenner answered on 22 Jun 2011:

      Yeah i’m definitely no expert, but I’ve heard that it’s all about the bonding immediately after birth. The baby uses their sense of smell and hearing to recognise their mother perhaps?

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