Say "yes" to the natural high

Ah, good – “scientific proof” for my post on post-baby hormone highs.

From the BBC comes this snippet.

Brain scans on 12 new mothers soon after birth found more activity in areas linked to motivation and emotions in those who had a vaginal delivery.

The Yale University team says differences in the hormones generated by birth could be the key.

The women in this study were those who elected to have a Caesarean.

The contractions which are an essential part of a natural birth trigger the release of the hormone oxytocin, which is thought to play a key role in shaping maternal behaviour.

Not that you can’t get Blissed out on oxytocin after having a Caesarean – I know a couple mothers who had C-sections and were floating afterwards. But both of them breastfed and spent long hours nuzzled up against their babies, which also stimulates the wonder drug.

But all this is why I have to feel a little sorry for the men. It’s pretty damn hard being the parent of a small baby, and to do it without the extra brain help? Even harder. Not that the fathers I know don’t love their little ones – but their relationships develop later, and in other less druggie ways.