For most people, especially those who are parents, the baby smell is one of the most pleasant they have ever smelled. We love to hold them, look at them, pamper them and give them kisses, but if there is something that makes us really crazy about babies, what we would become addicted to is their smell. Why do babies smell so good? Why is its smell so appealing to us?
Several studies have delved into the reasons behind this intoxicating smell, what it is due to and the effects it has on the mother with super interesting conclusions.
How is the smell of baby
Do you remember the smell of your baby, just like that, without powders, or colognes, or lotions? There is nothing like the natural smell of baby’s skin, a feeling impossible to describe.
There are mothers who compare it to the aroma of vanilla, biscuit, fresh bread … and even breast milk … what a pity that it cannot be kept in a jar!
But behind that smell that causes us a feeling of intoxication there are various scientific theories that try to explain its origin and function. The scent of babies may actually have helped shape our evolutionary history.
Why do they smell so good?
It is an unmistakable aroma, an imprint that is chemically etched in the brain. In fact, a study published decades ago showed that 90 percent of mothers are able to identify their own baby by smell among a group of babies.
According to SciShow, there is a natural reason why babies smell so good. That particular smell that persists for about six weeks after the baby is born may be due to excess amniotic fluid, as well as vernix caseosa, which is the white substance that covers the baby’s skin at birth.
Our baby’s smell is always pleasant and there is a physiological answer to why babies smell so good. They do not have active sweat glands as their perspiration mechanism is not yet regulated, so they do not have a bad smell.
The smell of baby, a natural drug
There is also an explanation as to why we are so enthralled by the smell of our baby. Because it activates endorphins in the mother’s brain . Endorphins are natural opiates secreted by the brain at the pituitary level. Faced with pleasant experiences, this small gland is stimulated by producing endorphins, also known as the hormone of happiness.
It is not surprising that we become addicted to that particular baby smell because endorphins act in the body like a natural drug.
A 2013 study published in the medical journal Frontiers points out that this smell affects certain regions of the brain of all women, especially those who have recently had a mother. To do this, the reactions their brains suffered when being in contact with newborn pajamas were measured.
It fulfills the function of establishing a chemical relationship with its mother , as a kind of caller that generates in the mother’s brain a biological need to provide protection and food for her young . Until now, the research has focused on mothers, so it is not clear if dads react in the same way, but they assume it would give similar results.
Johannes Frasnelli, a postdoctoral researcher in the Research Department of the University of Montreal, and director of the study, argues that newborn smell undoubtedly plays a role in the development of motivational and emotional responses between mother and child , and acts as a survival mechanism .
“Babies attract parents with their scent to make sure they stay fed, warm and safe .”
Could help treat depression
According to the Swedish research journal forskning.se, researchers at the Department of Clinical Neuroscience at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm are investigating whether that scent could one day be used to treat depression.
The team had 30 women smell hats previously worn by newborn babies. As the women inhaled the scent, the researchers studied their brains with a magnetic camera, Sciencenordic reports. Images were also collected when the women experienced other smells.
The results were compelling: the smell of baby hats seemed to affect women’s brains in ways similar to drugs used to treat mental illness.
The results were compelling: the smell of baby hats seemed to affect women’s brains in ways similar to drugs used to treat mental illness.
In Babies and more | The smell of babies is as addictive as drugs
