16. First Love

The chemical and emotional connection between a parent and baby is really important but just how quickly are babies making emotional connections? India talks to MIT Professor Rebecca Saxe about scanning babies brains to find the answers. Helen Jukes questions the ‘naturalness’ of the mother-baby bond and talks about the variety of relationships out in the natural world, and India talks to Paternal mental health expert Scott Mair about the important role of dads in the very early days of bonding.

Presented by: India Rakusen. Producer: India Rakusen Series producer: Ellie Sans. Executive producer: Suzy Grant. Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts Original music composed and performed by The Big Moon. Mix and Mastering by Charlie Brandon-King.

A Listen Production for Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.