There are 2 billion mothers in the world, and each second, 4 more babies are born. A sizable number of these children grow up with just one parent, who is most likely to be a working woman. Even though we don’t need to re-emphasize how important mothers are, these statistics still remind us how wonderful and special they are.
As a little thank you for everything they do for us, we’re featuring a list of mom memes collected by the Mommy Memes Instagram account. We hope that these posts serve as a little pick-me-up for any parent who needs it, no matter what they’re going through.
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Image credits: DadandBuried
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Image credits: mommymemes_
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Image credits: cydbeer
While we don’t want to undermine the importance of other parents (we have many other appreciation posts for them, like this one here), as you’ve probably noticed, today we’re shining the light on moms. Since they’re the first ones to form a bond and provide care for their child, kids primarily rely on them for love, warmth, and a sense of security.
How moms respond to these needs, determines how a new life entering the world will perceive their environment and relationships with others, affecting their social and emotional state and skills in the following years.
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Image credits: mommymemes_
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Image credits: AuthorAbbyJim
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Interestingly enough, mothers start forming a connection with their babies while they’re pregnant. At 5 months, the fetus can already hear sounds, which means that moms (or better both parents) can sing, read, and talk to it to bond. The sound of parents’ voices can help soothe the baby, and after they’re born, they’ll be able to recognize and follow them.
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Image credits: mommymemes_
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Carista Luminare-Rosen, PhD, author of Parenting Begins Before Conception: A Guide to Preparing Body, Mind, and Spirit for You and Your Future Child, recommends communicating feelings of love to unborn children by taking the time every day to sit and calmly tell the baby how welcome they’re in parent’s lives.
“Even if you’re only bonding to a concept at that point, and not the baby itself, you’re establishing a connection that will continue after the baby is born,” she said. “You’re expressing your love.”
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Image credits: michimama75
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Some research even suggests that babies in the womb may start to recognize certain sounds from language, helping with early language development. So talking or reading to a fetus not only helps to establish a bond but could also aid in their development after birth.
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Image credits: mommymemes_
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Image credits: sarcasticmommy4
Touch is another great way to forge a connection with a baby during pregnancy. Though the feeling of touch develops a bit later in pregnancy, it’s considered the best way to interact with a fetus by gently rubbing or massaging the belly and responding to the baby’s kicks.
Prenatal massages using very light pressure during pregnancy can be beneficial in general, helping increase oxytocin levels and lower stress hormones in the mother, providing a healthy environment for the baby to grow in.
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Image credits: momneedsalife3
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Something else that helps to bond with the baby in the womb is an ultrasound. “Bonding during pregnancy gives a mom a better sense of responsibility in caring for herself, and by extension, the baby,” said Thomas Ivester, MD, clinical instructor in maternal-fetal medicine. “When you can actually see the baby, that increases the feeling that the baby actually exists.”
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Image credits: mommymemes_
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In scientific terms, the bond between an unborn baby and the mother is called maternal-fetal attachment (MTA), which provides a great ground for the emotional development and well-being for both of them. Birthing parents who have a healthy attachment with their unborn baby are more likely to protect their baby from harm and to nurture their emotional well-being during their early life.
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Image credits: TheCatWhisprer
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Image credits: mommymemes_
“When there’s a healthy attachment between baby and parent,” says Marilee Hartling, RN, prenatal program manager at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, “the baby comes to believe that the world is a safe place. This is the beginning of the establishment of trust.” It’s also how they learn what the world is about and even becomes a part of their personality development.
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