European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 20, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                The critical role of tour by Daniel Goleman new York times t t exp. Fill1 Sci of Twig Loach cd newer Mich shows has of duct and crucial Ellec Lson the growth Al the body a Wall As the Mintra inh n a Means of communication so critical Ihal ils absence retards Grawl in in Lori according la researchers who 3k Tor the Lisl Lime Rook mining  skin los Fin co incl inc new work locusts on inc importance of touch ils Oll. Nil merely .1= Prill of. Say a Parol s Loving presence. The findings May help our Vita inc Long noted syndrome in which Inland n deprived of direct human can Lack grow slowly and oven die psychological and physical Slun Hng of a lands deprived of physical con Sci. Although otherwise fed and cared Lor. Had been Nolod in the pioneering work of Harry Harlow wooing with or Talos. And the psychoanalysis John in caring for premature in lands has Beon a minimal touch Rule Field said word of her continuing findings and others Hal support them has led to a change in this policy in some hospitals babies born prematurely Are kept in incubators and fed intravenously they had been touched As Little As Poss we because Iney had been observed becoming agitated when someone approached or handled them. The agitation sometimes put a dangerous Strain on Niheu imy lungs putting the in sols in danger of hypo a an inability Loo Ygo Nate the blood however. Field found that a it Gnu Massage of babies backs. Logs and necks and gentle movement of their arms Nuti legs Provod to have a tonic of Eccl immediately sooth my Idem and eventually speeding i hair Gross la Field had decided to try massages because of Lin dogs by or Saul Schanberg of Iho department of pharmacology at Duke University the is longest evidence is irom studies of other mammals but in seems to apply to humans. Schanberg s studios of infant Laboratory rats showed Hal a parti Vitar pal Tom of Louin by the Mother ral particularly Ecung inhibited the Inland rat s production of Beta in Dorphy a chemical that allots he Levels of insulin and growth hormone 1h slowed production of Beta endow pm did not depend on me presence of the Mother researchers were Ablo to induce it by simulating Iho Jorcke of the Mother s rough Longwo Wilha Wal Paintbrush. While Levels of bets endorphin decreased in in sponsor to Licking the Levels Rose when the wants Mere Lak Entrom i heir Mol hours to the separation  can have tone effect soothing them an eventually speeding growth. Pc misled lha Plant rals growth was stunted. But resumption of lha Mother s touch even when simulated Wilh a Brush again lowered inti Beta on Dorphy Sevels and quickened growth. To believe lint the brain a elects we found in rats will also hold lot humans because the Basic neural and touch systems Are the  Schanberg said. He hypothesizes that Iho touch system is part of a primitive survival mechanism found in All mammals. Because mammals depend on maternal care for survival in i hair Early weeks or months Iho prolonged absence of a Mother s touch More than 4$ minutes in a rat Lor instance triggers a slowing of the infant s metabolism and Ihus a lowering of its need Lor nourishment such a reaction heightens ils chances of surviving until it is once again in Contact Wilh the Mother while the slower metabolism is beneficial in the Short Lerm it a lungs growth if very prolonged according to Schanberg part of the response in rals which includes huddling Down and becoming still is a change in metabolism that conserves the store of Energy and slows the Rale of i owl. The Mother s Louch Hove even. Reverses the process so lha growth resumes at Normal Rales. In f elated finding physical Contact Lmh the Mother appears essential to reducing the release of hormones by an Inland when subjected to stress. According Lodr. Seymour Lovine 0 psychologist in Iho department of psychiatry Al Stanford University medical scr tool. When infant lats or monkeys Are separated from their mothers activity in the pituitary adrenal system rises a response Hal is also typical for humans under stress Inlet late s studies physical Contact Wilh the Inland s Mol Hor lowered this stress response. Contact arid Louch have a significant role in Iho infant s ability to regulate its own responses to  Levine said his work does not allow him to separate touch in itself irom the Morry general effect of the Mother s presence but to theorizes that in humans a touch induced reduction of stress hormones May account Lor Iho soothing Cal acis of skin to skin con acl. In an article published in a recent Issue of a tied development Schanberg and Field review data inc aim that it was Louch rather than Mere prox Immy saturday february 20, 1988 or motion thai regulated infants growth rate. Other research Siig gels thai All babies Benefit irom touch not just the premature infants Field studied. Research by or. Theodore Wacks a psychologist at Purdue showed Hal infants who experienced More so in-Lo-5kin con acl had an advantage in the Lisl so months of me. Such findings have encouraged is Lor Malion of some infant Massage groups outside of hospitals Lor parents to learn the Besl ways in Massage their babies the Besl stroke Lor an infant Field said is gentle firm and slow. 11 Iho touch is Loo Light ii can Over stimulate and even irritate an infant. Different areas of an Inland s body respond differently to Louch. Ii a Parent wants to soothe an infant gentle strokes or Light Massage on ils Back and legs will relax it. On inc other hand stroking a baby s face belly or feet lends to stimulate it. In most parts of lha world people Massage babies said Field. Tho Western countries Are about the Only place this is not  the Primacy of touch in infancy experts say is tied to touch s being inc most mature sensory system Lor the lust several months of life it s the first Way an Inland learns about Iho  said or Kathryn Barnard a professor of nursing Al the University of Wash Glon. About so percent of a baby s communication is through ils body movement. It s easier to Tead a baby s comm Calion with skin to skin  babies resort to crying when their needs become i genl while they use movements to show More Subtle feelings and needs Barnard said her research has shown thai the More a Rno hgr holds her baby Iho More aware she is of the baby s needs. And Bainard found thai those infants who wore held More showed Superior cognitive development As Long As eight years Laler apparently because they were More Alert. A touch each Olhorn too  Field said. Body Contact is very beneficial Belicen parents and children right up to adolescence " White a warm touch is Par i of Loving Contact and is difficult to sep aral irom in Icse atari is suggesting that Louch has an importance Over and above other expressions of All Clion and that ils presence has consequences Lor psychological development the stars and stripes Paga 17