When babies aren't held they are deprived of touch and can fail to thrive and lose weight and in severe cases even die.
Babies and young children that do not get held or touched also have lower levels of a growth hormone which means that a lack of touch can stunt a child's growth as well.
Babies and children need to be held and touched and loved to thrive.
Babies can feel unloved and even an unborn baby can sense and react to emotions like love and rejection.
A mothers or parents thoughts about the baby and even pregnancy such as love, rejection or dinterest directly affects the baby and the child's sense of self, esteem and security.
An infant to be emotionally neglected if he or she does not have a relationship with at least one caregiver who can accurately read and interpret the infant's cues and respond in a sensitive or caring way most of the time, especially when the baby is hurt, ill, very upset,
The range of emotions that your baby can pick up on are extremely wide.
For example, if you don't want your pregnancy, your baby can feel that same rejection.
This can cause emotional problems for your baby in the future.
A baby's experience before birth is still largely unknown but some research suggests they may sense how a pregnant parent feels.
Experts are still learning about what can be sensed from inside the womb, like joy, stress, and whether or not an unborn baby can feel unwanted.
Normally babies develop a close attachment bond with their main caregiver (usually their parents) within the first months of life.
If they are in a situation where they do not receive normal love and care, they cannot develop this close bond.
This may result in a condition called attachment disorder.