When it comes to holding a baby in one's arms, one is careful:one holds his head, one avoids holding him upside down... But did you know that mothers instinctively tend to hold their baby from the left side ? A fact noticed by scientists, who did not really know how to give it a meaning... it is now done! As researchers at St. Petersburg State University explain in a study published in the journal Nature Ecology &Evolution , this position activates the right hemisphere of the brain, which is involved in social relations and communication. Humans are not the only ones to make this gesture naturally:other mammals, such as horses, kangaroos, great apes or even killer whales do it too.
Until then, the hypotheses rather evoked physical contact, explaining that being cradled on the left, babies could feel their mother's heart beating. This may be true, but it seems that in reality, it is more a question of exchanging glances. In this position, the mother and the child look at each other mainly, via their left eye, which activates the right hemisphere of the brain. Thus, it activates attention, memory, reasoning and problem solving, therefore by extension, communication and the mother-child bond. Moreover, the absence of eye contact between a mother and her child could result in behavioral problems, even autism spectrum disorder.
We'll think about it the next time we cuddle a baby!
