Today is National Hugging Day! Not that you need another reason to snuggle those beautiful, perfect babies, but did you know...

💙It has been medically proven that children, who have more skin-to-skin contact with their parents from birth, have comparatively lower cortisol levels, a stress hormone, than those who do not. This is one of the reasons why parents are asked to hold their babies skin to skin in the intensive care unit.

💙According to the research, infants who received 20 minutes of tactile stimulation on a regular basis for 10 weeks had scored higher on the developmental assessments as compared to those who did not.

💙Children who received more affection during their childhood were found to have larger hippocampus. According to the researchers at Washington University School of Medicine, Hippocampus is the key part of the brain that contributes in the learning, memory and child’s response to the stress.

💙A hug increases the blood circulation into the soft tissues which soothes body pain and discomfort.

💙A hug creates a gentle pressure on the sternum and an emotional charge which helps in stimulating the thymus gland, which helps in regulating and leading the production of white blood cells - keeping your little one healthy.

We're rooting for you.

#FeelGoodFriday #FridayFeels

www.thefocusfoundation.org

Did you know that Dr Sprouse’s book, ‘X & Y Chromosomal Variations: Hormones, Brain Development, and Neurodevelopmental Performance,’ is currently being used in medical schools across the country to educate the next generation of medical professionals, like this self proclaimed future “princess baby doctor?”

Purchase a copy for you and your medical team here: http://bit.ly/2dl6ZTC. XY parents get a 25% discount with the coupon code XYPARENT.

Our team took a very important step today to protect the world from COVID-19. #researchworks

Think it's too early to discuss developmental delays? Be sure to be discussing these early milestones with your medical team and be aware of delays if your little one is not chatting with you early on!

www.thefocusfoundation.org