By Dr. Joseph Mercola
Guest Writer for Wake Up World
Infants deprived of touch typically experience developmental delays. Their growth is often impaired, as is their cognitive development. Rates of serious infections and attachment disorders also increase in children who have been deprived of this apparently innate need.
There are other signs, too, that touch is much more powerful than perhaps we give it credit for. When premature infants are held, skin-to-skin, by their mothers, they have better cognitive skills, are more resilient to stress, and show more organized sleep, among other benefits, even 10 years later.
This might be construed as a benefit more of maternal contact than touch, but even studies on nurses giving infant massage show the babies benefit from touch, even when it’s from a stranger (they have increased weight gain and earlier discharge from the hospital, for starters).
