A baby is just like a blank slate with no knowledge of his surroundings. Whatever is painted on the slate is taken as it is. When a baby is born, he has no emotional ties, he is even unaware of social ties. But somewhere in his heart, some cords are attached, which he senses when these cords are touched and sensitised.

The first time these cords are touched is when the baby is growing inside the womb, where he gets familiar with his mother's heartbeat, her voice, her smell. This is the reason why the baby finds it soothing and warm when, immediately after birth, his mother embraces him. The baby just snuggles to the mother's chest where he can reconnect to her heartbeat which he heard while in the womb.

Another time these cords are highly sensitised is when a mother nurses her baby. Skin-to-skin contact is the highest form of showing love and care. It helps form strong emotional ties. While breastfeeding, the baby starts to feel motherly affection. Also, he feels safe and secure in his mother's care.

I am the mother of a preemie and he is now 4 months old. As he was born at 29 weeks of gestation, he was taken away to NICU right after birth. I couldn't even see him. But when I went to the hospital to see him and held him for the first time, I could sense that he bonded with me. And when I started with kangaroo mother care therapy, he showed tremendous improvement. Slowly as I got involved in nurturing him, his growth process accelerated. This is a mother-child bond.

Bonding with the baby is very easy. It's a process where the more the love and care, the stronger the bond will be. Other social and emotional bonds of the baby are formed as the baby grows and learns about his relationships.

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