Here’s How To Activate Your Hormones To Become A Better Mother And Happier Person

It’s easier for some than others but you could become a better mother to your child and a happier person overall if you activate your hormones. It sounds complicated but it isn’t, really. Scientists have known for decades that animals with less oxytocin exhibit less nurturing of their babies but not much research has been done on human mothering and oxytocin until more recently.

Oxytocin is regarded by professionals as one of the key maternal hormones, but it doesn’t just make women more maternal, it makes them more loving in general. And it isn’t just limited to women. Men have oxytocin too. The hormone is actually also an antidote for depression, because it helps people connect more and makes them happier.

Here’s what you need to know if you would like to be a more emotionally generous person to those you love as well as be a better mum and an overall happier woman:

Oxytocin During Pregnancy And How It Affects Your Parenting

Researchers have found that women’s oxytocin levels during their first trimester of pregnancy predict their bonding behavior with their babies during the first month after birth. Additionally, mothers who had higher levels of oxytocin across the pregnancy, as well as the postpartum month, also reported more behaviors that create a close relationship, such as singing a special song to their baby, bathing and feeding them in a special way, or thinking about them more. Quite simply, the more oxytocin you have, the more loving and attentive you are to your baby.

What’s more, oxytocin reverses the effect of the fight or flight hormones once danger is past, and helps us restore our sense of calm and well-being according to experts. It lowers blood pressure and promotes friendliness, or the desire to connect with others. In general, oxytocin makes you happier.

What If You Don’t Have High Oxytocin Levels In Your First Trimester?

It makes sense to ask if one is fated to be a lousy parent if one’s oxytocin levels are low in the first trimester. According to a Clinical Psychologist and mum, Dr. Laura Markham, it doesn’t have to remain so and there are steps that you can actually take to become a more loving mum.

Markham in a blog post explained that while there are no artificial means to get the oxytocin levels up, the brain does actually have a natural and easy way to ramp up on the production of the happy hormone ‘oxytocin’. this she says can be done by engaging in simple, enjoyable, everyday activities!

“Some activities that will help you produce more oxytocin: Touching another person, loving your baby, loving a pet, connecting deeply with another human being, yoga, exercise, giving or receiving a massage, meditation, worshiping, participating in a group that you enjoy, engaging in loving sex, singing, dancing, gardening, volunteering, snuggling your child….”

Harkham shared.

You could probably add to this list with your own favorite, replenishing activities. Highest on the list would be loving connections with intimate others, from partners to children to friends to pets. Quite simply, we produce oxytocin when we feel love. In fact, some researchers call it the love hormone.

And for pregnant women who wonder about their oxytocin levels: the single best way to increase your oxytocin is to breastfeed your baby when it arrives. Not only do your blood levels increase, but your body makes more receptors, permanently increasing your feelings of love — and your ability to feel loved, explains Dr. Markham.