The power of a hug: A loving embrace is the secret to your baby's good health!

New Delhi: A mother's love for her baby is unconditional. All mothers want the best care for their babies and every mother has a different way to provide that care.

While some are hands-on mothers, others prefer to hire a nanny, but experts have revealed that even though mothers opt for different ways of care-giving for their babies, they should not forget to give them a hug.

Yes, experts have said that a hug can go a long way in ensuring good health for your baby! Prerna Kohli, Clinical Pyschologist associated with Huggies, says that there are emotional benefits that hugs have for your bundle of joy.

• Makes them sleep better: Snuggling your child for a couple of minutes before they sleep will ensure a good night's sleep for you as well as for your baby. Hugging relaxes the body and has therapeutic effects that help a child sleep better.
• Stress reduction: Who doesn't like to feel relaxed, safe and secure? Even a child does. Hugging your child will make them feel relaxed and safe as the levels of cortisol (the stress hormone) decrease with this physical expression of love.

Sharad Tandon, Cardiologist at Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurugram, talks about a few little known scientific benefits of hugs for your little one.

• Boosts immunity: Snuggles and cuddles in which the participants' hearts get pressed against each other boost the immunity by promoting the production of white blood cells by stimulating the thymus gland. This will help to keep your child healthy and free from diseases.
• Helps to heal: Many people aren't aware that a loving embrace can help heal diseases. This again is attributed to the release of oxytocin. For this reason, parents of premature babies are encouraged to have skin-on-skin contact to help them grow and develop. This very reason is advocated by experts who swear that a new mother heals quickly after delivery if she is immediately left with her baby undisturbed.

A Huggies survey highlighted another important point that said that 90 percent doctors and experts believe that a newborn child can identify their mother's hug. A mother's scent and voice becomes easily familiar to a baby.

(With IANS inputs)