Good News Friday

Have you welcomed someone new into your life?

This week we welcomed a new baby and as with the magic of new life, we have fallen head over heals in love.

This baby is a great niece and I begin to think about why I feel so deeply, is it oxytocin, the love hormone? Could it be the perfection I see, the purity and hope new life represents? Maybe seeing the couple becoming a family?

All of the above.

Dr. Russell Eisenman, Psychology professor with the University of Texas says “It is physiology, biology, and culture. Love comes from feelings and emotions, and it can also come from thoughts – like what a person thinks love is or how much they value the other person.”

I have some ideas about love and family so this makes sense, what about oxytocin?

He goes on to say, “Women have an oxytocin response at the sight of an infant, even if it not their own infant, and that explains why women will be interested in another woman’s child and will want to pick it up.”

Here I am, so even though I did not birth this child, I get the release of oxytocin. While oxytocin is released during childbirth to facilitate breastfeeding, it is also released by women as a natural response to the need for care.

I will enjoy this feeling…..