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Why do mothers cradle babies on their left?
1Department of Paediatrics and Neonatology, Hammersmith Hospital, London, UK.
Lancet (London, England)
|June 22, 1996
Summary
Mothers often cradle infants on their left, which may facilitate affective communication. This left-cradling preference could enhance early mother-infant interaction by engaging the right hemisphere in both mother and child, potentially impacting language development.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Linguistics
Background:
- Maternal cradling preference for the left side is a common observation with various proposed explanations.
- Existing theories include handedness, maternal heartbeat, breast sensitivity, socio-psychological factors, and infant monitoring advantages.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose that protection and facilitation of affective communication are central to the maternal cradling preference.
- To explore the connection between left-cradling and the right hemisphere's role in early mother-infant interaction.
Main Methods:
- This study proposes a theoretical framework based on existing research and neurobiological principles.
- It examines the implications of left-cradling for interhemispheric communication in mother-infant dyads.
Main Results:
- Left-cradling directs maternal communication towards the infant's right hemisphere.
- This practice also facilitates affective feedback to the mother's right brain hemisphere.
Conclusions:
- Left-cradling may be crucial for establishing early affective communication and mother-infant bonding.
- The proposed neuro-linguistic mechanisms could be significant for child language development and the evolution of human language.