Know when to hold ‘em: How does early infant-caregiver physical contact impact infant behavior and development?

Skin is the largest sense organ, and in early infancy, it may be the most important sense as it encompasses almost all infant-caregiver interactions. At the turn of the century, we knew that infant-caregiver touch mattered, as research on the effects of touch deprivation showed devastating consequences for development. Yet beyond the effect of lack of physical contact, the importance of tactile contact to infants' early development received scant research compared to that of vision or hearing. In the past 25 years that has changed. Touch has emerged as a major research area. In this article, we present five major lessons learned in the past quarter century from research on early infant-caregiver physical contact: 1) some touch is required, 2) touch is a form of communication, 3) touch is pleasurable, 4) touch supports stress regulation, and 5) interventions that extend touch support infant development. We then propose pressing questions for future research on early infant-caregiver physical contact. Research on the effects of physical contact in early infancy can affect a positive influence on childcare practices, interventions, parenting ideas, and health care policies.