When babies are picked up, there are natural reactions in their bodies that help them calm down. Generally, babies will relax into their mothers' arms, making them easier to hold. When babies are picked up by their moms, their heart rates drop—a sign of relaxation. Any time a person becomes panicked, the heart rate speeds up. A crying baby has a high heart rate because he wants his mom. But when mom picks up the baby, these signs of panic decrease. Researchers noticed that babies being carried have lower heart rates than before they were picked up, which means that they are calmer than they were before. In other words, when a mom picks up her baby, the child cries less, moves less, and relaxes more. Of course, this will work for your little sister or brother, but it does not just happen in humans. This pattern has been studied in other animals too, and it is called the transport response (TR). Healthy young animals relax when they are being carried. This is a normal TR.

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Go to source: https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2016.00028