Mother and child have an inexplicable bond. In fact, experts say that children whose mothers gave them excellent post-natal maternal care may be less likely to succumb to stress, reports Science Daily.

Researchers from the University of California, led by Tallie Z. Baram, separated new-born laboratory mice from their mothers for short periods every day for a week and found that the separation led to bouts of intense maternal care.

When they examined the subjects' brains, researchers found that the mother-and-child reunion muted the activity of the neurons responsible for producing stress hormones. It also triggered the change of a protein called NRSF, which further reduced the activity of stress-related genes in the aforementioned neurons.

These results show that mothers need to spend more quality time with their babies. They should be encouraged to always show affection, as a warm embrace or a soft kiss could prepare their kids to handle stress better in the future.

(Photo by Toshimasa Ishibashi via Flickr Creative Commons)