FROM the moment you look into your newborn baby's eyes you make a connection.

The urge to reach out and touch your little one is overwhelming, your baby's need to be held is a primal one, and here we have the beginning of bonding and attachment. Through touch, deep emotional bonds are made between caregiver and infant which will last a lifetime.

While in India massage is a part of a mother and baby's daily routine, in other parts of the world leading anthropologists have discovered through various trials worldwide that the most violent tribes actually withhold touch from their newborns.

In order to develop love, empathy and understanding in your children, the part of the brain that takes care of this needs to be well developed. Touching and talking to your baby helps to do just that.

Massaging your baby from birth has a profound effect on the body from the brain to the digestive system.

You cannot spoil a baby through holding them and touching them; responding to their needs in this way actually makes them feel more secure and loved.

The benefits of touch through massage are:

- interaction - with your babym helping to form that lasting positive relationship

- relaxation - both parent and child experience a feeling of wellbeing

- relief - touch through massage is a great reliever of colic, constipation, teething pain, congestion and tension

- and stimulation - the body is stimulated to dispel toxins and waste products

Touch and massage also help to release oxytocin, which is the love hormone; what's not to love about that!

See: www.parentandbabycoach.co.uk

Next week: Quiet time and time out