Are babies born with emotional attachments to their mothers and able to recognize their mothers at once? Yes!

Myth: Babies are born with emotional attachments to their mothers and can recognize their mothers at once The fact is that children are not born with an emotional attachment to their mothers and cannot recognize their mothers at once. In order for an attachment to occur babies first have to develop a recognition ability. Recognition ability occurs after about 9 months a child is born Boding does not happen instantly, in fact It happens over time

What does bonding truly stand for.. In order to understand bonding we first need to know the proper definition According to Google bonding is an event that occurs based on interests, relationships, experiences and shared feelings When a child is born the mother experiences joy, happiness or even opposite feelings but this does not cause an instant attachment

Popular Media telling us differently A numerous number of books have been written telling soon to be mothers that children are born with instant attachment to their mothers.

Recognition Ability Recognition has to come first for attachment to occur Recognition becomes functional when we are able to remember a previous experience The way we experience our first interaction can be by seeing one’s face, posture, body movement, taste, feeling of different texture, temperature and smell Since babies are not born with experiences they become attached after going though such things which occur after a few weeks of life

Attachment the emotional attachment occurs during the first year (during the sensitive period) after 8 to 12 moths kids experience an emotional bond resulting in separation anxiety (crying) a child does not become attached within a few hours after birth but rather a few months Therefore, “instant bonding” is a myth (Eyer, 1994)

Oxytocin Oxytocin is hormone released in the mother’s brain during pregnancy Its is also called a bonding hormone. “High oxytocin causes a mother to become familiar with the unique odor of her newborn infant, and once attracted to it, to prefer her own baby's odor above all others”, said Palmer. According to Linda Palmer the mothers oxytocin is passed from mother milk to the child which allows for attachment and calmness in both mother and the baby

Attachment Theory Attachment theory is a emotional bond formed between a child and primary caregiver (usually mother) Babies do not become emotionally attached at birth due to no experience of recognition By six months babies began to develop an expectation of what their caregivers react like After eight to twelve months babies start using the attachment theory to seek their mothers attention by either crying, grasping and starting to use their vocals

Nature vs. Nurture Babies are not born with a emotional attachment to their mother. Rather they gain the attachment by interacting with their primary caregiver. Babies become emotionally attached by nurture. Nature plays a role by providing humans with neurons and hormones which allows for an interaction between a caregiver (parent) and a child This situation then shows the big influence of nurture as well as nature.

References Winstanley, D.(2001). Existential Stories on The Myth and Reality of Motherhood. Narratives of Oppression Coon, Dennis, Susanne Wicks McKenzie, and Arielle Giordano. (2010) Study Guide for Use with Psychology: A Journey, Third Canadian Edition. Toronto: Nelson Education, Print. Blackman, J. (2005) Infant Development and Mental Health in Early Intervention. Austin, TX