Whilst writing my coursework for the Developmental Psychology module I’m studing, Freud’s theory caught my attention. According to Freud, babies become attached to their caregivers because of their association with gratifications, notably mother’s breast lead to feeding, this form of pleasure inducing oral stimulation leads to babies being attached to the mother herself as a source of oral gratification. Having not yet read a comprehensive volume of his work, I have only heard bits and pieces over the years in some hot topics. General attitude of modern day researchers discredit his theories with a lack of evidence base, but I want to speculate about a more known association with attachment due to the chemical compound released by our brain - oxytocin.
It’s widely accepted that women get attached to men more easily than vice versa, in a relationship when sex is involved. This is due to oxytocin chemical bound released during or shortly after intercourse, especially if organism is achieved. Similar scenarios include cuddling, hugging, intimate gestures, can also lead to the production of this “happy chemical”. In short, a woman can grow a deep attachment bound towards a man because of his penis. Can we draw parralel to a baby growing attachment to their mother because of her breast?
What is already known is that, from the provider (mother)’s perspective:
Oxytocin is released in response to breastfeeding to cause milk ejection, and to induce physiological changes to promote milk production and psychological adaptations to facilitate motherhood.
Uvnäs Moberg K, Ekström-Bergström A, Buckley S, Massarotti C, Pajalic Z, Luegmair K, Kotlowska A, Lengler L, Olza I, Grylka-Baeschlin S, Leahy-Warren P, Hadjigeorgiu E, Villarmea S, Dencker A. Maternal plasma levels of oxytocin during breastfeeding-A systematic review. PLoS One. 2020 Aug 5;15(8):e0235806. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0235806. PMID: 32756565; PMCID: PMC7406087. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7406087/
Could this effect cause similar outcome to the receiver?
Contributing factor:
Skin-to-skin contact
Oxytocin can be released by activation of several types of sensory nerves originating from the skin, nipples, gastrointestinal tract and urogenital tract. Light pressure, warmth and stroking contribute to oxytocin release caused by ‘pleasant’ or ‘non-noxious’ sensory stimulation of the skin.
Uvnäs-Moberg K., Petersson M.Role of oxytocin related effects in manual therapies. In: King H., Janig W., Pattersson M.M. (eds). The Science and Application of Manual Therapy. Amsterdam: Elsevier; 2011.
However, the oxytocin release that is induced by skin-to-skin contact does not occur in short pulses in the same way as oxytocin induced by sucking, but rather in a few protracted pulses. It is not associated with milk ejection, but may instead ‘prime’ the ensuing breastfeeding interaction.
Oxytocin effects in mothers and infants during breastfeeding