Sniffing a newborn baby’s HEAD is the SAME as taking drugs, say experts

There’s something so satisfying about nuzzling up to your newborn and sniffing in their sweet scent.

It’s so fresh, warm and also oddly euphoric – and there’s a reason for that…

In fact, scientists have found that smelling your newborn’s head is the same as taking drugs!

Sniffing a newborn baby’s HEAD is the SAME as taking drugs

Researchers from the University of Montreal found that when mums get a whiff of their newborn’s fuzzy head it triggers their dopamine levels.

Basically, a baby’s scent is like a biological perfume that creates maternal bonding and lights up the same region of the brain that is associated with reward.

This area is also triggered by delicious food, sex and drug-addiction cravings – basically everything to do with causing you to feel pleasure!

“What we have shown for the first time is that the odour of newborns, which is part of these signals, activates the neurological reward circuit in mothers,” study author Johannes Frasnelli said in a statement.

“These circuits may especially be activated when you eat while being very hungry, but also in a craving addict receiving his drug. It is in fact the sating of desire.”

“It is possible that childbirth causes hormonal changes that alter the reward circuit in the caudate nucleus, but it is also possible that experience [of smelling their own baby] plays a role.”

So, there you have it. We finally know why sniffing a baby’s head is a soooo addictive!