She’s Mom-atized
New moms are biologically predisposed to think their little one is enchanting. Like dog owners who rave about their “handsome” 20-year-old, crusty, nearly hairless furbaby, it’s human nature to be proud of something that belongs to us. However, when it comes to human babies, the parent-baby bond isn’t just tied to empathy and pride, it’s heavily influenced by a physiological post-birth booster pack of hormones.
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Baby faces must be attractive to their caregivers because this increases the chances of an infant’s survival in the wild. Renowned behavioral psychologist, Konrad Lorenz, coined the term “Kindchenschema” or “baby schema” to describe this phenomenon and considers it an important adaptive trait for promoting protective, caregiving behaviors in adults. According to Lizhu Luo from Frontiers in Psychology, “Perception of infant cuteness may be influenced by reproductive hormones, [increasing] attention and attraction to infant cues.” Responding to their changing hormones post-birth, women exhibit higher levels of perceptive distortion when it comes to baby cuteness, insisting that their own offspring is cuter, and thus, more deserving of their motherly attention.
From an evolutionary standpoint, if a mother views her newborn through rose-colored glasses, she’s more likely to establish an important bond with them—even if the baby’s cuteness is heavily distorted by hormonal influx.
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According to psychologist Alison Fleming, PhD, hormones play a key role in mother-infant bonds from the moment the baby is delivered. These postpartum hormones can not only predict stronger maternal responses to children but also manifest mothering behavior that goes beyond bargain-brand maternal instinct. With a heightened attraction to a baby’s odor, more sympathy to their newborn’s cries, and a delulu perception of their baby’s appearance, a new mom is bewitched by their heightened postpartum hormones so they can be an even more effective parent.
Essentially turning new moms into a sonic-hearing, cuteness-boosting, diaper-changing Superwoman, postpartum mothers experience a miraculous evolution of human brainpower. However, as they harness a superb ability to empathize with their baby’s shrill wailing and soul-bond with the tiny human they’ve cherished for the last 9 months, new mothers can get lost in a flood of postpartum hormones. Though it's possible for dads to experience this phenomenon as well, it's astronomically more likely for new mothers because of their post-birth physiological changes. As a result, modern mothers approach their postbirth euphoria like they would any other extraordinary life milestone by posting pictures of their precious new baby online, but they forget one critical detail: You are the only one blinded by postnatal hormones.
Witnessing any newborn without the rose-colored glasses of sweet, sweet maternity turns the miracle of new life into a timeline jumpscare.
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A Face Only a Mother Could Love
In most cases, babies come out of the birth canal looking like a burrito-sized goblin; they need some more time to cure into their cuter form. Moms and dads tend to disagree, ooo-ing and aww-ing over their shriveled up dumpling like they’re on track to be the next Gerber baby. Truth be told, newborns, we’re talking freshly birthed, brand new babies, have a face that only a mother could love. “A baby’s cuteness isn’t just a pleasant coincidence; it’s a powerful biological signal,” says Dr. Sermed Mehzer, a family physician and content creator. “Research shows that features like big eyes, chubby cheeks, and tiny noses trigger feelings of affection, reward, and a strong urge to protect and care for the baby.”
New parents experience this biological signal far before their infant acquires the typical “cute” features, thus ensuring that even vulnerable infants get the attention and nurturing they need to survive. After a few months outside of the womb, however, babies are undeniably adorable, showcasing universally cute features that everyone loves, thus garnering the attention of everyone around them. With plushy, soft skin, enormous, shining eyes, and darling little hands, babies are indisputably enchanting.
A refreshing TikTok trend has been taking the social media world by storm, affirming confusion with this newborn obsession. Mothers online are beginning to acknowledge their postpartum delusion, recognizing that they were under the influence of the hormonal powers that be, and sharing pictures of their beloved babies in both the newborn stage and their cute stage.
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Pointing out that their hormonal influx may have skewed their perception of their baby’s cuteness, moms and dads are brought back down to earth with the rest of us. Because when even a mother acknowledges that her baby looked a little bit ugly at the beginning, it allows the rest of us to heave a sigh of relief that we are not alone in our opinion.
In fact, by joking about their baby’s relative adorableness, it shows the strength of a parent’s maternal or paternal bond, and their unwavering love for their tiny human, despite how wrinkly, misshapen, or patchy they look. They’re your baby and you love them no matter what, and that’s truly all that matters.