Speaking of body odor, almost all agreed to compete to eliminate it. But, unlike the case with newborns who have a very distinctive body aroma. In fact, almost everyone likes this aroma. Why do many people like baby's body odor? Come on, see the following expert explanation.
Why is the baby's body odor so special?
Seeing a baby with big eyes, fat cheeks, and smooth skin definitely makes you anxious not to want to hug him. Not only that, but the distinctive aroma of his body also encourages you to continue to smell it.
A study published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology looks at people's reactions when they smell the body odor of a newborn baby.
The result shows that the distinctive fragrance does not only attract the attention of his parents. In fact, people around him also liked the smell of the baby's body.
From the study, it can be concluded that the baby's body scent is liked by many people, including maybe by you. But what is the cause?
Causes of microcephaly in infants
There are several theories that explain this. George Preti, Ph.D., an analytical chemist at the Monell Chemical Senses Center, explained the reason.
"The distinctive aroma comes from chemicals released by the baby's sweat glands," he explained as quoted from the Women 's Health Magazine page.
He also explained that usually, these chemicals can last up to 6 weeks.
The distinctive aroma of the baby's body will begin to change when the metabolism in the body also undergoes changes, along with the food that now comes from breast milk, not the umbilical cord anymore.
In addition, another theory states that the distinctive odor in infants comes from vernix caseosa, which is a whitish-like substance that coats baby's skin at the time of birth.
Even though the body of a newborn baby will be cleansed, the smell can stick firmly to the baby's hair and skin.
What happens when you smell the baby's scent
The aroma is a very strong influence on your brain. Because the aroma has its own nerves in the nose and special pathways that can be directly channeled to the brain.
Likewise, with a fragrant smell, this smell will also have an effect on you. A fragrant aroma can cause pleasure to you, one of which is the baby's body odor.
Why does the baby's body odor cause pleasure? Based on the same study, the smell of babies is known to activate certain parts of the brain and increase the bond between the baby and the mother.
Not only that, smelling the distinctive aroma of the baby's body can also stimulate the brain to produce dopamine. Dopamine is a hormone in the brain that can change the atmosphere for the better.
That is why baby odor creates a pleasant feeling and is liked by many people. This is evidenced by the results of MRI imaging which shows that there is an increase in the scale of pleasure in the brain.
Although the smell of a typical baby's body will fade. The sweat produced by the baby's body still does not smell. This happens because babies have not consumed food that causes body odor, such as onions.
In addition, they also have not been active in the wild so that there is not much sweat production. The dirt on the baby's body is not too much, so it is less likely to cause body odor.
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