Joiner Flourishing Pathway Blog Three - Mothers and Fathers

This blog post explores JFP Principle 3: Mothers and Fathers - There are good reasons mothers spend a larger proportion of their time with their young infants. Research shows that mothers are typically more sensitive to infant cues and thus deliver more attuned early nurturing that enhances parent-infant bonds so vital for an infant's long-term wellbeing.

I'll explore the evidence here, and in a later blog, the broader implications for women and men. This is a condensed version of a much longer discussion in my book The Foundations of Flourishing https://ethicspress.com/products/the-foundations-of-flourishing.

The Extraordinary Design of the Female Body

Have we forgotten how remarkable female physiology is? From the moment pregnancy begins, a woman’s body and brain prepare for connection. We talk to our baby, we may sing to them, dance, run, have conversations with our partners and friends about our growing baby. By the end of pregnancy, we long to meet them face-to-face. In modern Western societies, with fewer pregnancies, we have few chances to engage in this brief yet profoundly significant opportunity to embed ourselves in life’s most important relationship.

The Science of Maternal Bonding

Neuroscientist Jaak Panksepp (2013, p. 85) showed that dramatic hormonal shifts late in pregnancy—especially in oxytocin and prolactin—trigger powerful maternal urges that promote nurturing and bonding. These same neurochemicals also help infants bond to their mothers.

Further, Trevarthen (2001) has shown that newborn infants will smile on recognition of their mother’s voice soon after birth. And that ‘hearing the mother, backed by recognition of her odour and touch, attracts the infant to look at her face, recognition of which is then quickly learned’ (p. 100). It is this unique two-way process that occurs with pregnancy and birth that sets the scene for a lifetime of intimate connection between a mother and her infant. This does not diminish a fathers’ role, but highlights a uniquely powerful biological connection between mother and infant, critical to the survival of the human species and to the fundamentally important development of secure attachment.

Fathers’ Distinct Strengths

This is not to say that fathers do not have a significant role to play. Supportive partner’s play a vital role in enabling their partner to have the resources to care for their offspring. It is in the second year of the infant’s life when fathers' propensity to spontaneously engage in play, is believed to be critical to the social and physical development of the left brain of their child (Flanders, Herman & Paquette 2013; Schore 1994, 2013).

The Language of Love

Mothers also engage far more frequently in “parentese”—the melodic, nurturing speech that supports early language and cognitive growth (Johnson et al., 2014). In a study Johnson et al (2014) compared mother’s and father’s vocalisations toward their infants when both parents were home (p. e1604). They report that during the recording period

… infants had relatively few vocal interactions with their fathers independent of their mothers. Any male adult response occurred in 27% to 30% of the blocks compared with any female adult response, which occurred in 88% to 94% of infant-initiated language blocks (p. e1606).

This matters because early parent–infant conversation predicts later intelligence and academic success (Hart & Risley, 1995).

Breastfeeding: Biology’s Masterstroke

Breastfeeding not only nourishes but deepens emotional attunement through touch, eye contact, and oxytocin release. It enhances visual and cognitive development (Michaelsen et al., 2003), protects against infection (Tarrant et al., 2010), diabetes, and depression, and supports long-term neurological health of the infant (Julvez et al., 2014; WHO, 2014). It also provides ‘High levels of tactile stimulation and mutual touch’ and frequent opportunities for mothers and their infants to engage in mutual eye gazing believed to be critical to early social development (Schore 2013, p. 35).

For mothers, it reduces risks of breast and ovarian cancers and aids physical recovery after birth including lowering blood pressure and cortisol levels (Sulaiman, Amir & Liamputtong, 2013; Uvnäs-Moberg, 2013). Yet maintaining breastfeeding is often made difficult by early return-to-work pressures and lack of support.

The Case for Maternal Primary Care

Evidence consistently shows that mothers display higher sensitivity and responsiveness to infants—qualities that foster emotional regulation and secure attachment. For this reason, I argue that, where possible, mothers should be the primary attachment figure for at least the first 18 months of life.

To deny these biological realities in the name of gender neutrality risks ignoring the deep physiological and emotional bonds forged through pregnancy, birth, and breastfeeding. Yet, modern society often overlooks this precious window, urging mothers back to work too soon.

I’ll explore these social implications further in later blogs. Next I’ll explore in JFP Blog 4 - Childcare, why childcare is not the panacea we thought it was.

Bibliography

Chatterji, P & Frick, K 2003, Does Returning to Work After Childbirth Affect Breastfeeding Practices?, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, NBER Working Papers: 9630, 2003, <http://www.nber.org.ezproxy.utas.edu.au/custom?client=test3_fe&proxystylesheet=test3_fe&site=default_collection&btnG=Search&entqr=0&ud=1&output=xml_no_dtd&oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF-8&q=does+returning+to+work+after+childbirth>.

Feldman, R 2012, 'Oxytocin and social affiliation in humans', Hormones and Behavior, vol. 61, no. 3, pp. 380-391.

Flanders, JL, Herman, KN & Paquette, D 2013, 'Rough-and-Tumble Play and the Cooperation-Competition Dilemma: Evolutionary and Developmental Perspectives on the Development of Social Competence', in D Narvaez, J Panksepp, AN Schore & T Gleason (eds), Evolution, Early Experience and Human Development: From Research to Practice and Policy, Cambridge University Press, New York, pp. 371-381.

Hart, B & Risley, TR 1995, Meaningful differences in the everyday experience of young American children, Paul H. Brookes, Baltimore.

Johnson, K, Caskey, M, Vohr, B, Tucker, R & Rand, K 2014, 'Gender differences in adult-infant communication in the first months of life', PEDIATRICS, vol. 134, no. 6, pp. e1603-e1610.

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Lawrence, RA & Lawrence, RM 2016, 'Benefits of Breastfeeding for Infants/Making an Informed Decision', in RA Lawrence & RM Lawrence (eds), Breastfeeding. [electronic resource] : a guide for the medical profession, 8 edn, Elsevier, Philadelphia, PA pp. 214-229, via cat02831a (EBSCOhost), <https://login.ezproxy.utas.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cat02831a&AN=UTas.b2290728&site=eds-live>.

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—— 2013, 'Bowlby's "Environment of Evolutionary Adaptiveness": Recent Studies on the Interpersonal Neurobiology of Attachment and Emotional Development', in D Narvaez, J Panksepp, AN Schore & TR Gleason (eds), Evolution, Early Experience and Human Development: From research to practice and policy, Cambridge, New York, pp. 31-67.

Sulaiman, Z, Amir, LH & Liamputtong, P 2013, 'Infant Feeding Practices: Rates, Risks of Not Breastfeeding, and Factors Influencing Breastfeeding', in D Narvaez, J Panksepp, AN Schore & TR Gleason (eds), Evolution, Early Experience and Human Development: From Research to Practice and Policy, Cambridge University Press, New York, pp. 277-298.

Tarrant, M, Kwok, MK, Lam, TH, Leung, GM & Schooling, CM 2010, 'Breast-feeding and Childhood Hospitalizations for Infections', Epidemiology, vol. 21, no. 6, pp. 847-854.

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