Behavioral and Instinctive Cues of Mother and Newborn During Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding is not only a nutritional act, but a complex interactive process between mother and newborn involving instinctive, neuroendocrine, and sensory behaviors. These behaviors are evolutionarily conserved and optimize latch, effective sucking, newborn physiological regulation, and mother–infant bonding.

In the first minutes and hours after birth, the newborn displays a sequence of instinctive behaviors—known as neonatal instinctive behaviors—that support the autonomous initiation of breastfeeding. At the same time, the mother experiences neuroendocrine changes, including the release of oxytocin and prolactin, which regulate uterine contractions, milk production, and sensitive behavioral responses. Understanding these behaviors is essential to optimize breastfeeding support, reduce the risk of latch failure, and promote a positive experience for both mother and newborn.

Neurophysiological Basis of Instinctive Behaviors

NEWBORN

Immediately after birth, the newborn exhibits a series of instinctive behaviors and primordial reflexes that facilitate contact with the mother, breast latch, and effective sucking. These behaviors are evolutionarily conserved and strictly regulated by the central nervous system, primitive reflexes, and complex sensory signals.

• Nipple-seeking cues: right after birth, the newborn orients toward tactile, olfactory, and visual stimuli coming from the mother. Orientation toward the breast, exploration with the mouth and hands, and nipple-seeking behaviors are spontaneous actions that facilitate initial latch and allow the baby to establish effective contact with the mother without external instruction.
• Self-positioning movements: when placed on the mother’s chest in skin-to-skin contact, the newborn can slowly move toward the nipple. These movements include lifting the head, exploring the breast with hands and mouth, and gradually approaching the nipple. Observational studies have documented a structured sequence of phases leading to sucking, demonstrating the newborn’s ability to self-regulate and coordinate movements based on nutritional needs.
• Initial sucking and rhythm modulation: early sucking ensures immediate nutritional intake and activates essential neuroendocrine signals for both mother and baby. Nipple stimulation promotes maternal oxytocin production, which facilitates milk let-down and encourages protective behaviors. For the baby, regular sucking helps regulate hunger, sleep, and alertness, improving physiological stability, heart rate, respiration, and thermoregulation. The ability to modulate sucking rhythm and alternate pauses is an adaptive behavior that prevents fatigue, allows effective digestion, and supports self-regulation.
• Integration of instinctive behaviors: these instinctive behaviors integrate with maternal responses, creating a dynamic system of mother–infant interaction. The sequence of self-positioning movements, nipple-seeking, and initial sucking enables effective breastfeeding initiation and provides physiological and emotional benefits. Simultaneously, the mother responds to the baby’s cues by facilitating contact, latch, and mutual regulation. This co-regulation forms the basis for successful breastfeeding and stable early bonding.

MOTHER

During breastfeeding, the mother displays instinctive behaviors that promote effective latch, milk production, and emotional bonding. These behaviors are largely mediated by neuroendocrine changes and by brain circuits specialized in processing newborn signals.

• Oxytocin release and physiological regulation: the contact of the newborn’s mouth and hands on the nipple stimulates oxytocin release—a key hormone with multiple effects on the mother’s body and the mother–infant bond. Physiologically, oxytocin triggers uterine contractions that reduce postpartum bleeding and support uterine recovery. It also stimulates the milk ejection reflex, enabling the newborn to receive colostrum and mature milk effectively. Psychologically, oxytocin increases feelings of attachment, security, and protection toward the child, reduces maternal stress and anxiety, and promotes sensitive, responsive caregiving.
• Instinctive behavioral response: regardless of previous experience, many mothers show spontaneous behaviors during breastfeeding, such as leaning toward the newborn, carefully adjusting the baby’s position, modulating vocal tone to soothe or encourage sucking, and maintaining direct eye contact. These behaviors are not formally learned but emerge as evolutionary biological predispositions that maximize breastfeeding effectiveness.
• Sensitivity to newborn cues: the maternal brain is particularly reactive to newborn stimuli such as crying, spontaneous movements, facial expressions, and characteristic odors. Neuroimaging studies show that exposure to these cues activates limbic regions—including the amygdala, anterior cingulate cortex, and insula—which regulate motivation, empathy, caregiving, and protective behaviors. This sensitivity allows the mother to automatically modulate her responses—for example, increasing physical contact or stimulating sucking—without external instruction.
• Integration with the newborn’s typical behavioral sequence: maternal behaviors synchronize with the newborn’s instinctive phases during latch and sucking. The mother adjusts posture and contact in response to nipple-seeking cues, climbing movements, and exploratory activity, supporting the transition from exploration to effective sucking.

Observational studies—including Widström et al. (2011) and Moore et al. (2016)—have identified a relatively consistent behavioral sequence during the newborn’s first skin-to-skin contact. Immediately after birth, the newborn enters a state of relative quiet, with regular breathing, minimal movements, and half-open eyes exploring the environment. This is followed by a phase of increased alertness in which the baby opens the eyes, orients the head, and perceives visual, olfactory, and tactile stimuli from the mother, increasing attention toward the breast.
Next, the newborn displays searching movements, such as the rooting reflex, guiding them toward the nipple; the hands move toward the face and the mother’s breast, contributing to exploratory contact that facilitates latch.

At the moment of latch, the newborn opens the mouth and begins to suck, coordinating sucking, swallowing, and breathing in a variable rhythm according to hunger and capacity. Periods of intense sucking alternate with rest pauses, allowing the newborn to regulate feeding and milk intake. When satiated, the newborn typically detaches spontaneously and may resume searching behaviors for additional feeds, maintaining contact with the mother and strengthening the emotional bond.

Mother–Infant Interaction and Behavioral Synchronization

Breastfeeding represents a co-regulation process in which mother and newborn continuously modulate behaviors and physiological responses. The newborn displays hunger cues, alert states, and exploratory behaviors guiding latch and effective sucking, while the mother adjusts posture, visual contact, vocal tone, and tactile behaviors in response.

This behavioral synchronization is not only an observable phenomenon but has solid neurophysiological foundations: nipple stimulation induces the release of maternal oxytocin and prolactin, which facilitate milk production, uterine contractions, and an emotional predisposition to caregiving. At the same time, continuous closeness and skin-to-skin contact promote the newborn’s physiological stability, improving thermoregulation, heart rate, and respiration. The mother progressively becomes able to interpret newborn cues, modulating her own response to support sucking, comfort, and the baby’s emotional regulation. In this way, mother–infant interaction during breastfeeding constitutes a dynamic system of reciprocal exchanges, in which the newborn’s instinctive behavior stimulates neurobehavioral responses in the mother, and vice versa, creating an optimal environment for nutrition, development, and bonding.

Understanding instinctive behaviors of mother and newborn has important clinical implications for obstetric and pediatric practice. Allowing the newborn to spontaneously go through the sequence of nipple-seeking and latching improves sucking effectiveness, reducing the risk of nipple trauma and breastfeeding failure. Supporting the mother in interpreting newborn signals and maintaining skin-to-skin contact enables an early and sustainable initiation of breastfeeding, increasing both its duration and exclusivity. Moreover, observing and supporting the newborn’s natural behaviors foster bonding, reduce maternal stress, and increase confidence in parental abilities.

Clinical practice should therefore include proper positioning of the newborn on the mother’s chest, limiting unnecessary separations, monitoring sucking and latch, and training healthcare staff to respect and facilitate these instinctive behaviors. Integrating these principles into hospital routines contributes not only to breastfeeding success but also to the overall well-being of the mother–infant dyad, optimizing short- and long-term clinical and psychological outcomes.