Posted on 11/29/2008 3:30:45 PM PST by Oyarsa
Natural Childbirth Moms More Attuned to Babies' Cry Finding may help shed light on postpartum depression in those choosing Caesareans
THURSDAY, Sept. 11 (HealthDay News) -- Mothers who delivered their babies vaginally appear to be much more sensitive to the cry of their own child within a few weeks of the birth compared with those who deliver by Caesarean section, a new study shows.
The finding, published in The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, give researchers insight into why postpartum depression seems to be linked more often to Caesarean birth.
The researchers based their findings on MRI scans that show heightened activity in the sections of the brain thought to regulate emotions, motivation and habitual behaviors. They believe this may be because vaginal childbirth involves the release of oxytocin -- a key mediator of maternal behavior in animals -- from the posterior pituitary, uterine contractions and vagino-cervical stimulation.
(Excerpt) Read more at health.msn.com ...
Maybe that’s why the woman I’m with won’t wake up when the kids are crying. For six long years I have been the one that gets up and takes care of the kids. (We have twins) Made my bed, now must lay in it.
Uh . . . we adopted, and my wife has been well attuned to all three of the children’s cries. (I have learned to sleep through out of necessity.)
Makes TOTAL sense. Just like it takes longer for milk to let down in C-Section women (unless allowed to go into labor),the hormone wouldn’t be released in childbirth.
That bottom picture cracks me up everytime I see it!
It would be interesting if they gave some detail about how this is demonstrated. Do they mean that mothers who delivered vaginally can select their own child's cry from among a group of other crying children, like penguins in a rookery? The utility of this would be minimal in the standard family setting: if a baby's crying in my house, it's mine!
Or do they mean that this mother is more likely to wake up when her child is crying than one who delivered by c-section? In that case, how much more quickly? Mom's taking another 45 seconds to wake up isn't going to hurt the baby, especially if he stops crying after 30 seconds anyway.
Oh for heavens sakes.
I don’t put much stock in psychiatric studies, but sometimes they do make perfectly spot on observations.
My wife had all of our four children at home naturally, and without the use of drugs. She also breastfed the three youngest (couldn’t seem to get the technique right on our eldest).
I can say though, that she’s always been especially sensitive to the cries of our infants. It often would surprise me that they could wake her out of a sound sleep, even when they cried softly.
They’d get me up too, but usually only once they reached the fire siren stage .. LOL
vaginal childbirth involves the release of oxytocin"Ears pierced while you wait."
Having had all four of my children via C-section, I completely disagree with this article. I can point out a few ‘mothers’ who’ve had multiple children vaginally, who weren’t and still aren’t ‘sensitive’ to their babies’ cries.
I was exactly as your wife was with my babies, and I delivered all of them via C-section. Go figure. Mine could whimper and I would snap awake and listen to see if there was more coming indicating a need to get up with them. My husband, OTOH, sounds just like you, lol. I can remember mornings sitting holding a finally sleeping infant after being up ALL night with said infant crying throughout the night, feeling like a zombie, and him waking up refreshed and asking if the baby slept ok. He never heard a thing, and our babies slept in OUR bedroom.
Oxytocin is a potent stimulator of contractions, which help to dilate the cervix, move the baby down and out of her body, give birth to her placenta, and limit bleeding at the site of the placenta. During labor and birth, the pressure of the baby against the cervix and then against tissues in the pelvic floor stimulates oxytocin and contractions. So does a suckling newborn.
There will probably be a lot more scientific discoveries made about the almost psychic bonds between a mother and child, though I’m sure most moms would say they could save the researchers a lot of time and trouble if they’d bother to ask them. LOL
Another comment on the “crying” thing... As our babies got older, my wife became less and less tuned in to their mid-night cries, while I became more and more tuned in to them. I know, it’s weird, but I think it had a lot to do with her cumulative exhaustion.
Once each baby had been weaned, I wound up sharing the late night feedings about 50/50 with her. It’s funny, but even after a tiring day of tough physical work, that little whimper would snap me right awake.
not arguing but for me, my first was born vaginally, she never once cried after she was born and then she was taken away to be cleaned and i was left to rest. A few hours later i was awakened by a babies cry down the hall and I just KNEW it was my daughter. Got myself all ready to greet her when she came to my room...and i was right. Its as if I KNEW her cry even though i’d never heard it before. There were alot of babies in that nursery that night and i knew that.
I’m sure that someone who gad their baby C section would have the same experience. I think that in most women there is a connection that is almost spiritual with the child that they create and carry in their bodies for 9 months.
Disagree. All mine were C’s and I was always very attuned to their cries.
See, I let down three days after my first birth which was a c-section after a LONG labor that went no where. But, I only dialated to 2cm after 42 hours.
The second and third were scheduled and it took 7 days for both.
I think the key might be in the cervix, as you suggested by the Oxytocin forcing dialation.
BTDT. I might have killed him, but I was always holding a baby.
Believe me, in the middle of some of those long nights, I conjured up so many ways to do my husband in, but, like you, I was always holding a baby, lol.
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