“You’ll spoil the baby,” “You’re letting them manipulate you,” “If you carry them so much, they’ll never learn to self-soothe.” These are just some of the comments many parents and caregivers have heard when they pick up their baby to comfort them.
For a long time, these ideas shaped parenting styles that sought to limit physical contact in order to encourage independence from a very early age. But today, the evidence tells a different story: hugging, holding, and keeping a baby close is not only beneficial—it is essential for healthy development. This article explores why physical contact is a biological necessity and the healthiest way to care for a baby—and how the IDB is supporting countries in making this a reality.
Physical Contact at Birth: The Golden Hour
One of the most widely recommended practices immediately after birth is skin-to-skin contact. Known as the “golden hour,” this practice involves placing the newborn on the mother’s bare chest. If the delivery is free of complications, all routine procedures and interventions can be safely delayed until after these first moments of connection between mother and baby.
“This moment of contact helps the baby calm down, regulate their heartbeat and breathing, stimulate digestion, trigger the urge to breastfeed, regulate body temperature, and promotes colonization with the mother’s skin flora, which will protect the baby in their new environment,” explains Dr. Mariana Galarza. In other words, the benefits are not just for the baby—but also for the mother.
Physical Contact With Preterm Babies: Kangaroo Mother Care
When it comes to premature babies, physical contact has proven to be particularly important. Kangaroo Mother Care, a method based on prolonged skin-to-skin contact between baby and mother—with support from the father or another caregiver—has been shown to be an effective strategy for improving the health and well-being of preterm infants.
This type of intervention improves physiological stability, promotes breastfeeding, reduces the risk of infection, and accelerates weight gain. But the benefits do not end there. Studies also show that, in the long term, babies who received Kangaroo Mother Care experience lower mortality, better neurological and cognitive development, greater educational attainment, and improved social integration.
Beyond Birth: Everyday Ways to Care Through Contact
Throughout the first months and years of life, physical contact remains a vital need. It fosters bonding with caregivers and helps build the emotional foundation children need to explore the world later on.
As Dr. Sabrina Critzmann explains, even at full term, human babies are still “premature” in many ways. They cannot move independently, feed themselves, or survive without the constant presence of a caregiver. Their nervous systems are still developing, which is why the first months after birth are considered a phase of “exterogestation”—a kind of continuation of pregnancy outside the womb that lasts about nine months.
Skin-to-skin contact after birth—whether with the mother or the father—has another surprising effect: synchrony. As researcher Ruth Feldman describes, parent and child become a single thermodynamic system, almost like two bodies functioning as one. For example, if the baby’s back gets cold, the adult’s brain registers it and their body generates the necessary heat. This synchrony helps stabilize the baby’s body temperature, heart rate, and cortisol levels (the stress hormone). It also releases oxytocin, known as the “love hormone,” which strengthens the bond between adult and child.
Carrying, cuddling, rocking, and hugging the baby is not only acceptable—it is recommended. The Manual para padres (available in Spanish and Portuguese) developed by the team at the University of the West Indies with support from the IDBsuggests the following activities for parents of babies from 0 to 5 months:
- Soothing the baby: When the baby cries, holding them close, speaking their name softly, rocking them gently, or rubbing their back can help calm them and make them feel secure.
- Promoting recognition: Holding the baby’s hands and gently guiding them toward the adult’s face, letting them touch the nose or lips while making soft sounds, are simple ways to strengthen the bond and help the baby recognize their caregivers.
- Hugging the baby: Holding the baby in your arms, rocking, hugging, kissing, and expressing affection with gestures and words not only provides comfort—it also supports the baby’s emotional development.
This manual is based on activities from Reach Up, a home-visiting program originally developed in Jamaica that has shown significant short-term impacts on cognition and language, and long-term improvements in education, behavior, employment, and income. With support from the IDB, the program—which emphasizes meaningful interactions between caregivers and babies—has been implemented in several countries, showing measurable benefits for children.
Implementing these practices in everyday caregiving not only improves the day-to-day experience of children and their families—it also brings broader collective benefits. Promoting physical contact, secure attachment, and positive relationships from the earliest days lays the foundation for healthier childhoods, stronger emotional development, and better learning opportunities. Over time, this translates into individuals with stronger social and cognitive skills, better equipped to face life’s challenges—and into societies with greater opportunity for all.
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