This is the pattern of life that the Bible describes as existing among the Hebrews. There was a special closeness between the mother and the children. Hebrew mothers breast-fed their children until they were about three years old, or even five years of age.

The Law of Interaction

Just after birth, the law of interaction begins to apply. It is reflected in the mother’s instinctive desire to hold the child close to her, and the child’s searching for the mother’s breast. When the baby’s chin touches the breast, the infant starts a head movement toward it until the mouth finds the nipple. The child’s mouth opens, sucks with the tongue as a pump, and then closes. The swallowing mechanism begins to work. The baby’s sucking triggers a reflex action in the mother, causing the uterus and cervix to contract. This contributes toward helping these organs to return to their original form.

Especially while nursing, the infant receives much important information about the outside world. All the child’s senses are stimulated at that time. The infant perceives the warmth and smell of the mother’s skin. It feels her with its sense of touch. The baby looks almost continuously at her face as she feeds it. It listens to her voice and heartbeat. The sense of balance is stimulated in the nursing position​—the fluid in the inner ear is set in motion—​one of the many stimulations necessary for the brain to develop properly.

Also, the child must work hard to get food from the breast. This lays a basis for the child’s power of concentration and endurance, abilities that must be developed. A nursing child that gives up too easily risks its life. Here the mother is truly needed.

Skin Contact and Stimulation

The feel of the mother’s skin evidently also plays a role in the child’s development. Child psychologist Anne-Marit Duve observes: “Since the activity of the pupils clearly shows the degree of brain activity, we have reason to believe that a high degree of skin stimulation, a high degree of contact​—not the least the contact connected with nursing—​can stimulate the mental activity, which in turn can lead to greater intellectual capacity in adulthood.”