The baby smell. Is it addictive?
Scents are closely connected to our memories and emotions. Certain smells can trigger pleasant feelings and memories within us. For example, the gentle sweet scent of a baby’s skin can have a calming and soothing effect. Just like the senses of touch and sight, smell helps young mothers to bond with their child, right from the moment of birth. And this goes two ways: babies can differentiate between their mother’s milk and milk from other women. They even prefer the smell of clothes worn by their mother.
Many mothers say that their baby’s scent is one of the most pleasant scents they have ever smelled. This was scientifically proven in 2013. After analyzing brain scans of 30 women (mothers and non-mothers), a team of researchers confirmed that “Women’s brains react to the baby smell as if it were a delicious treat, or even a drug.” *
* Maternal status regulates cortical responses to the body odor of newborns - Johan N. Lundström, Annegret Mathe, Benoist Schaal, Johannes Frasnelli, Katharina Nitzsche, Johannes Gerber and Thomas Hummel