The volunteers who hug babies who are alone in Chile: It's amazing how the children blossom'

"He just turned two months old and, though healthy, remains in the Pediatric Unit of San Juan de Dios Hospital, part of Santiago de Chile's public health network. It's also unclear when Estebana pseudonym for this storywill be discharged. The reason he is still hospitalized despite not being ill is that he has no mother or father to care for him."

"This is a pilot program by the Abrazame Foundation to prevent what is known as chronic emotional deprivation, and to help young children without their parents achieve better development, both in terms of nutrition and neurological development, as well as in their emotional bonds and interactionssomething that occurs in the first hours, days, and weeks of life. Otherwise, there is a risk that the baby will become withdrawn and develop future psychological and behavioral problems."

A two-month-old infant remains hospitalized because he has no parent to care for him. Dozens of babies in Chile remain in hospitals after birth due to adoption, abandonment, or parental inability. Volunteers from the Abrazame Foundation provide consistent daily emotional contact to create stable bonds until placement in biological, adoptive, or foster homes, a process that can take up to two years. Early skin-to-skin contact and repetitive caregiving behaviors adjust muscle tone, foster emotional containment, and enable learning, anticipation, and bond formation. Chronic emotional deprivation risks withdrawal and later psychological or behavioral problems without such interventions.

Read at english.elpais.com