27/01/2025
Sing to your baby!
Singing stimulate the vagus nerve, which promotes oxytocin release!
Oxytocin promotes the let down of milk, bonding, and enhances mood and trust- amongst other benefits
Studies show that parents feel more bonded to their child after singing, and infant’s crying episodes have been shown to be reduced when they are sung to more
I am also a professional singer, so I have a specific interest in this topic(!). Parents (in both a musical and a parental context) often tell me they are ‘tuneless’ or ‘tone deaf’ - (which is never true by the way, they’ve often just not been given confidence in their innate ability). However, EVEN if you have no confidence in your singing voice, your baby thinks it is the most enchanting sound in the world.
We often talk about the benefits to your baby - language development, bonding, soothing - but not so often for the parent. We are a culture who don’t use our voices very much - so try it out! You may be amazed by the impact it has on your relationship and your mood.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1871519217300367
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2059204317745746 this study short term benefits - the authors indicate the limitations of the study meaning that they don’t show longer term benefits, and authors recommend further research based on their positive findings
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