Among the many, many things that your baby knows;

In contrast to the view that prenates do not have the capacity to interact, remember, learn, or put meaning to their experiences, opportunities exist for parents to form a relationship with the baby in the womb.

Before birth, the human foetus has already acquired elaborate motor and sensory organs and is born ready and able to search the world for communication. New research in developmental behaviour and developmental neurobiology now confirms that before birth the baby is motivated to acquire experiences and emotionally evaluate them.

Most mothers know that the new baby is able to imitate facial, vocal and gestural expressions. To engage like this in human contact demands unique complex motor patterns and purposeful control. The emotional attatchment between parents and their children arising also from a sharing of pleasure, of playful companionship and not just a provision of care by the adult.
Infant behaviour is shaped by the responsive support of human companionship.It arises from 'here and now' activity with another to arouse self awareness and an immediate sense of sympathy for others.

Human babies are biologically prepared before birth to contribute actively in establishing a bond with their caregivers, as this will promote their chances of survival.  Like the young of most animal species, the human baby is equipped with a set of built-in behaviors that helps keep the parent nearby and increase the chances that the baby will be protected from danger. Of course every baby needs to be fed and contact with the parent also ensures this, but feeding is not the basis of attachment.

The infant's relationship to the parent begins as a set of innate signals that call the adult to the baby's side. As time passes, a true affectionate bond develops, which is supported by interactive play and emotional experience as well as consistent, sensitive and responsive care. Out of this experience, children form an enduring affectionate bond with their caregivers and this attachment provides them with a secure base from which to venture out and explore the world.

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