The child will have little or no physical or emotional bonding with its caregivers unless it is adopted quickly. Often, the staff or even a foster mother is so overworked that they do not have the time to bond with a child. If they do, this can lead to negative affects when the child and the caregiver are separated. It works with adrenaline to regulate sugar levels in the blood. Cortisol dampens the body s reaction to stress by suppressing the immune system.
Touch is crucial to the regulation of the stress-response system.
It can affect a child s motor skills and memory. During the average day a typical child s cortisol level peaks in the morning and decreases in the evening. In children who have no motherly attachment, the cortisol levels continue to increase during the morning and only decrease slightly by evening. In the nineties and probably well into the future, more children are being placed in daycare centers. The staff of these facilities becomes the child s primary caregiver.