Unfortunately, to accommodate modern medical staff and their many
interventions, most infants and mothers are immediately separated and given
only brief periods of intimacy with pro-longed intervals of separation, during
which the child is neither fondled nor spoken to and is left alone in an
isolated crib. Though institutionally practical, this is unnatural. The
separation does not engender intimacy or trust and there seems to be a high
correlation which gives evidence to suspect that babies without the ongoing
experience of skin-to-skin contact with close proximity to the mother will
somehow deviate from normal erotic functions when adults. In addition,
they have increased illnesses and significant difficulty establishing and
maintaining intimate human relations. It appears this is because their iman
was not confirmed at birth and repeatedly and appropriately re-enforced
through the intimacy of a loving touch and gentle voice. It is then no small
wonder that the Prophet of Islam repeatedly praises motherhood, and that
women are intended for privileged existence in the home of a Muslim.
Unfortunate children subjected to prolonged and ongoing absence from the
mother combined with critical uncaring attitudes are indelibly insecure and
cannot learn to trust anyone, including themselves. Extremes of this
pathological response can be found in forms of paranoid personality types of
which there are several, and it may even lend a hand in the development of
sociopathic personalities. All in all, a certain anti-social, even pseudo-autistic
predisposition and lack of empathetic compassion for others is now in
evidence globally. This phenomenon is accompanied by pre-occupations
with personal development and gain, and now characterizes the post-WWII
generations that have been subjected to post-partum separation from the
mother in developed nations.
It is established scientific fact that infants thrive best when placed
immediately upon the mother’s breast at birth, being left undisturbed in close
skin-to-skin proximity for the first 24 hours without washing away the
vernix.^60 And there are new developments in research to substantiate that
this fact is ordinary, old fashioned, divinely-given common sense:
60
vernix: a greasy deposit covering the skin of a baby at birth. It is known that this deposit
contains important nutrients that are absorbed through the skin, and that along with
colostrum (the first substance expressed from the breast), are sufficient to nourish the
infant during the first 24-36 hours.