What does bonding truly stand for..

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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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.

6. 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

7. 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)

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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.

11. 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