Baby hands: The Babkin Reflex

🧤Why do we want to take the mittens off baby’s hands during feeding? During the early stages of infancy, babies exhibit a range of reflexes that aid in their survival and development. One such reflex is the Babkin reflex, which plays a significant role during breastfeeding. The Babkin reflex is characterized by the baby’s instinctive response to open their mouth and turn their head when pressure is applied to the palms of their hands.

🙌🏼 This reflex is particularly important during breastfeeding because it helps babies actively engage in the feeding. When baby’s hands are free, they have the opportunity to explore and interact with their mother’s breast. As they do so, the pressure on their palms triggers the Babkin reflex, causing them to instinctively open their mouth wider and turn their head towards the source of pressure. When baby is in a good and close position to the breast, belly to belly and nipple resting near baby’s upper lip, the babkin facilitates self latching which is often a deeper latch than one done by caregivers

🤟🏼Promotes Bonding: Feeding is not just about nourishment; it’s also a time for bonding. Free hands encourages skin-to-skin contact and fosters bonding while increasing oxytocin release for the dyad

So don’t be too quick to push those little hands out of the way when trying to latch, and ditch the mitts.

Have you tried to trigger this reflex with your baby? It should integrate (no longer be triggered) as they age and learn their own muscle control, but it’s really cute to trigger when they’re tiny.

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Видео Baby hands: The Babkin Reflex канала LA Lactation, LLC