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RaMa Mama Doula Share: A Baby's Cry - Wisdom of the Primal Voice...

Babies cry as an alert signal for help to support their needs. Whether they are hungry, wet, tired, hurt, teething, or something else, there are studies that show babies have different signals for different issues. Parents learn these signals from day 1 because of instincts and observations. Mothers release hormones like oxytocin - the "love hormone" - when a baby cries that helps with bonding, emotions, trust, and attachment. The parts of the brain in charge of empathy, compassion, and urgency are activated in order to be able to respond appropriately. This just proves that the primal sounds we naturally make serve a purpose in helping us not only survive, but thrive.


Most people feel extremely uncomfortable when they hear a baby cry. It hits our nervous system, and we naturally want to respond with urgency. The faster we can decipher what the baby is trying to communicate, the faster we can calm them down. The pitch and frequency have been connected to various issues that babies may be facing. For example, hyperphonated cries (high-pitched) are associated with preterm and low birth weight babies, as well as those who have been affected by drugs, are ill, or have neurological damage. They tend to activate a more irritating response that results in more immediate attention. A typical cry comes from a basic pitch of 400-650 HZ. Those who do not respond to emergency cries are usually women who suffer from depression, moms who have used hard drugs during pregnancy, or young moms.


Priscilla Dunstan's scientific theory offers research on the various sounds that babies make and what they mean. There are specific sounds for hunger, needing to burp, feeling sleepy, tummy aches, discomfort, teething pain, loneliness, thirst, and frustration. This "baby language" is one way to try and interpret what they are trying to say. Primal sounds are found in the languages of all species, as they all find ways to communicate with the abilities they have. Research has shown that babies from places with all different languages make similar primal sounds. There are actual physical reasons for these sounds that are related to the need they are expressing. For example, "Èh" is the sound for needing to burp because the air has to come out brief and jerky when the larynx closes and diaphragm lowers. Each sound is created specifically out of the reasons the body signals for the sound. It happens naturally and consistently, and therefore we can study it and learn how to best respond.


The most difficult thing is when a caregiver or parent cannot soothe the crying baby. Some babies experience colic and cry for no reason at all. Other babies don't cry as often, but their caregiver or parent has a condition that alters their perceptions of the crying. There is no situation that defines every baby, and that is what makes this so confusing for so many families. The best we can do is observe, pay attention, and listen to what the baby is expressing at various times of the day and with different conditions. By watching and feeling what the baby needs or how they are processing their lives at any given moment, we can better attune to those needs and be able to find the best ways to calm them down.

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