The skin’s scent casts a magical spell on both mother and child. You and your baby form an irrevocable bond through this sense. A mother can identify her baby solely by smell within a few hours after birth. The primary olfactory memory of a baby is established in as little as ten minutes after birth, and is reinforced with each feeding and cuddling.
You identify each other, and also share love and nourishment in this way. Scientific instruments can even measure this indescribably powerful bond. There are immediate and detectible changes in the hormone levels of mother and child when they smell each other. When your baby eats or sleeps naked, cuddled against your chest, the strong foundation of safety, love and stability are permanently imprinted in his neural pathways. Since your baby has fuzzy vision at birth, the olfactory imprint is much more important to his sense of security than sight. When people don perfumes and other heavy scents around your new baby, it can hamper your ability to bond with each other.
But the problem extends beyond an oblivious visitor drenched in fragrance. We don’t realize just how many products in our homes are “improved” by added fragrances. Many brands of dishwashing liquid, soap, air fresheners, floor cleaners, fabric softeners all contain added Fragrances. The word “fragrance” on a label may indicate thousands of undisclosed synthetic chemicals, many of which are known to cause discoloration to skin, coughing, vomiting, and skin irritation upon inhalation or contact. Even more troubling, they can also affect the central nervous system, causing depression, hyperactivity, and irritability. Finding products that are fragrance free really is of paramount importance.
Baby isn’t the only one thrown off-balance by strong smells. Heavy scents can also be surprisingly unpleasant for you during pregnancy and while nursing. Your sense of smell is dramatically enhanced during this sensitive time. A woman’s heightened sense of smell is essential for bonding with baby, but it also has more utilitarian biological purposes. For millennia, it has helped new mothers protect themselves and their babies from spoiled food or other environmental dangers.
