Mom freaks out when she hears baby crying? Cortisol is also responsible for childcare difficulties | Health

Mothers have an innate instinct to respond to their newborn’s cries. A study published in Psychoneuroendocrinology looked at the role of the stress hormone cortisol in determining how mothers behave when their children cry. It found that high cortisol levels in new mothers led to more intrusive parenting for their infants.

Intrusive parenting here means that the mother quickly intervenes and becomes overly controlling to reduce discomfort. With this overly controlling attitude, the infant’s gestures tend to be misinterpreted. So, when a baby cries, the mother may immediately rush to feed him without considering other possible reasons for his crying.

ALSO READ: Should you exercise during pregnancy? Experts share the do’s and don’ts

Role of cortisol

Cortisol is a stress hormone. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis produces it. And this is very vital in evoking the body’s response to stress. With the increase in cortisol level, the individual’s emotional regulation changes to respond effectively to the stressful stimuli present. Researchers have established a correlation between cortisol levels and maternal brain functions, linked to emotional regulation and auditory responses.

ALSO READ: From Sleepless Nights to Self-Love: 7 Essential Self-Care Habits for New Moms

Response to infant cries

Researchers conducted the study by observing the behaviors, cortisol levels and brain scans of 59 first-time mothers with infants aged 3 to 4 months. The results indicated that mothers with high cortisol levels are more likely to exhibit intrusive behaviors towards their children. They take control to alleviate the stressful situation of the baby’s crying.

With high cortisol levels, certain regions of the brain show low activity. The areas are: the right precentral gyrus for motor planning, the superior temporal gyrus for auditory processing, the medial frontal gyrus for emotional regulation, and the culmen for understanding and recognizing sounds. Reduced brain activity in these regions, accompanied by a spike in cortisol levels, makes mothers more intrusive. They cannot respond calmly to their infant’s distress. This controlling behavior could harm the child’s development. It shows how stress impacts maternal behavior, where mothers quickly intervene without truly assessing the situation and understanding the child’s needs.

ALSO READ:BPain From Losing Abs: Here’s How New Moms Can Bounce Back With Postpartum Physiotherapy