The Development of Senses

• A newborn’s senses are partially formed within the mother’s body and completely developed after birth.
• Within hours after birth, a newborn is able to distinguish his/her mother’s voice and can recognize the unique scent of the mother’s body.
• The sense of smell is highly developed at birth. Research has found that within hours after birth, breast-feeding babies use their nose to find their mother’s nipple, so scientists know the sense of smell is intact at birth.
• Babies respond to the natural scent of their mother's skin. Human smell responses are very deep -- odors are the only sensory messages that plug directly into the brain.
• Writing in the International Journal of Childbirth Education, NZ midwife Joan Donley says, "Olfactory bonding sets both the mother's and the baby's hypothalamic systems towards a positive response. The mother will have a reduced stress response to normal anxiety-producing stimuli while the infant will be content when close to the mother."
• Maternal odors in general facilitate an infant's ability to "recognize mom", says Dr. Richard Porter of Vanderbilt University. “Infants are quite responsive to a range of biological odors, and these [odors studied] seem to be particularly important for neonates."

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