The first stages of life are considered one of the greatest gifts in this world. But what goes into the first moments of a child’s life? Thanks to an article from Science News and based on a report in Acta Paediatrica, we now have at least a small sample of an answer. The article took a small sample size of children and went through their first hour of birth, taking a look at the interaction between the baby and the outside world, as well as interactions between the baby and its mother. In the first minute, babies release a cry. This is pretty common knowledge, however the reason for the cry is very understated. The cry babies release in their first minute of birth is used as a method to help wake up the lungs. Even at birth, babies show self-preservation traits. Another example of this is in the 2nd minute, where babies hold perfectly still on their mothers’ chests. They do this because, according to author speculation, it will help the babies become hidden from predators. Even in their 2nd minute of life, babies are protecting themselves from possible attacks. The reasoning for this may come from the fact that newborns had spent the last 9 months as an embryo in their mothers’ womb. Now that they are in the unfamilar territory of the outside world, they take a defensive and self-preserving stance. The babies do this until they are hungry, as they are cut off from the supply of nutrients provided by the mother in the womb. As the babies become hungry, they open their eyes and gesture to their mother(using small noises) that they are hungry. After the babies are fed, they fall back asleep. There are many reasons for what babies do in their first hour of life, and the majority of the reasoning comes from self-preservation, and even at such a primitive state, the babies succeed in gaining nutrients and easing themselves into the outside world.

Article link: https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/growth-curve/timeline-baby%E2%80%99s-first-hour