Do You Cradle to the Left or Right?

A recent study published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry reports that mothers who cradled their babies in the right arm showed signs of stress and could be at higher risk of depression than those who tended to cradle their baby in their left arm.

The study was small and only looked at 79 mothers, but the results showed a significant trend. The new mothers were asked to pick up and cradle their babies and then complete a survey which asked them about their mental state.

Of the mothers who showed no signs of stress or depression, 86 percent held their babies to the left. Among stressed mothers with 32 percent cradled to right.

Nadja Reissland, a developmental psychologist at Durham University, who lead the study said that that there was no connection between side preference and whether a person was right- or left-handed.