Stone age babies in a space age world
Would our lives as human mothers be more simple if our body were still covered in thick hair for our babies to cling to, enabling the constant access to the breast nature intended?
It's fascinating to consider how this significant part of human evolution had such an impact on how we care for our infants. There must have been a generation which tipped the balance, where mothers found their infants trying to cling but there was little to cling to.
How long did they muddle along trying to hold babies in arms and gather roots and berries, leaves and seeds. Who was the one, lost in time, who announced: "so I made this thing to hold my child".
There is a theory that the less hirsute males could run longer without overheating and they could regulate their temperature through more efficient sweating. This would have made them highly valued within the band they hunted with, making them attractive mates and bearing children with the genetic mutation of less body hair. Unfortunately, the females would also inherit the trait .... leading to some practical issues!
Dr James McKenna describes our "stone age babies in a space age world". In the timeline of humanity, the modern world is barely a blip and evolution has not changed babies needs at all.
Human babies anticipate life outside the womb much like that of our primate cousins. Touch a newborn's palm with your finger and they will grip tightly. Known as the Palmar Reflex, you can get the same response from their toes. They are ready to cling to our body hair. Any touch of their face triggers the rooting reflex, to seek the breasts they expect to be in front of them.
Our babies are designed to be held close to their mother in the first months of life. Survival would depend on it. They don't know it no longer does and the Moro or startle reflex which throws their arms out wide when laid down abruptly is a reaction to being away from their mother and at risk.
When we replicate the conditions our babies expect, through #babywearing, responsive #breastfeeding and #cosleeping, the transition from the womb is more gentle. One day our babies will be ready for the 21st century but not from the start .
