Philly Researcher Helps Prove New Baby Smell is Real
Why you should huff this baby like a bottle of glue.
The New York Times reports on research proving that “new baby smell” is a real thing—nature’s way of making moms even more attached to (and protective of) their newborns.
The Times says: “Johan Lundstrom, a biologist formerly with the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia and a study author, believes that women’s brains are hardwired this way to provide an evolutionary incentive.
UPDATE (Oct 7): A letter from the Monell Chemical Senses Center offers two small corrections: “Thanks for the nice post on baby smell. We’d appreciate two small corrections – please note that Dr. Lundström maintains his faculty appointment at Monell: http://www.monell.org/faculty/
‘We think that this is part of a mechanism to focus the mother’s attention toward the baby,’ he said. ‘When you interact with the baby, you feel rewarded.’ A similar process may apply to men as well, Dr. Lundstrom said, though he lacks the data to prove it.”
The sad thing: The combination of chemicals, hormones, sweat, and whatnot that produces the odor is pretty much gone by six weeks So next time you find a new baby, be sure to huff it like a bottle of glue. The high can only last so long.
