Die Art und Weise, wie Babys beruhigt werden, ist möglicherweise wichtiger als die Art und Weise, wie schnell die Mütter reagieren. Britische Mütter reagierten schneller, aber ugandische Säuglinge erholten sich schneller. Britische Mütter verwendeten mehr verbale Beruhigung und weniger taktile Kontakt. Ugandische Mütter verwendeten taktilere Strategien, insbesondere das Stillen.

I’ve linked to the press release in the post above. In this comment, for those interested, here’s the link to the peer reviewed journal article:

https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2026-56898-001.html

From the linked article:

The way in which babies are soothed could be more important than how quickly mothers respond, according to new research revealing cultural differences in how babies are comforted.  

Researchers including Professor Zanna Clay of our Psychology Department observed mother–infant interactions in urban UK and rural Ugandan communities.

They focused on how mothers soothed their babies following naturally occurring episodes of distress. 

They found that although the UK mothers responded to their babies‘ distress more quickly, Ugandan infants actually recovered faster. 

This challenges long-standing assumptions rooted in Western models of parenting by showing that maternal promptness is not the only factor influencing how infants manage their emotions. 

Instead, the type of soothing behaviour used, which is shaped by cultural context, may play a key role in helping babies regulate distress. 

While both UK and Ugandan mothers soothed their babies at three months with tactile contact, like breastfeeding, UK mothers tended to use more verbal reassurance and less tactile contact as babies grew older.  

By comparison, Ugandan mothers were more likely to rely on tactile strategies, particularly breastfeeding, even with older infants.