Why do newborns smell so good?

A familiar feeling, an emerging science

For some parents, the natural smell of their newborn is one of the details they most want to remember. Not everyone experiences it in the same way, and enjoying a baby's smell is not a test of love or attachment.

There is no single established explanation for why newborns smell good. A baby's natural body odour is not the same as a baby lotion or perfume. Research has explored how adults respond to that natural odour; it has not identified one universal ingredient that explains every family's experience.

What a small brain-imaging study found

In a 2013 study, Lundström and colleagues exposed 15 first-time mothers and 15 women who had not given birth to the natural body odour of unfamiliar two-day-old newborns. Brain imaging showed responses in regions involved in reward in both groups, with differences related to maternal status in some analyses.

This is an interesting finding, not proof that smell creates a parent–baby bond. The study was small, included only women and measured brain activity rather than changes in attachment or everyday caregiving. It did not directly measure dopamine release. The researchers described their findings as tentative.

Bonding is bigger than a smell

Your relationship grows through the everyday things you do: responding to your baby, holding them safely, looking at their face and talking to them. NHS guidance acknowledges that parents and carers bond at their own pace. A bond does not have to feel immediate to become strong.

If bonding feels difficult, speak to your midwife, health visitor or GP. You do not need a special scent or product to build a relationship with your baby.

What this means for a keepsake

My Baby's Scent is developing an adult keepsake inspired by the wish to remember those first days. The research discussed here concerns natural newborn odour, not our reconstructed scent. It does not establish that a reconstructed fragrance produces the same brain responses, accurately reproduces an individual baby's smell or strengthens bonding.