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The secret behind your mama bear instinct

By Melinda Ayre|

Shield of dreams: mothers put themselves on the line for their children because of bonding hormones.
Shield of dreams: mothers put themselves on the line for their children because of bonding hormones.
Bonding hormones the reason mums protect rather than run, says study

Recently my children were in danger and my inner mama bear roared. Loudly.

It was one of those intense moments when you sense menace around your babies and every fibre in your body pings into action as your adrenalin pumps.

You feel as strong as an ox and know if anyone touches your child จC it's quite possible you will kill them. And you wonder where the power came from.

Well now science is catching up and shedding light on why the so-called กฎmama bearกฏ protective instinct is so strong and what kick starts it.

You see, mothers react differently when faced with danger.

While generally humans and other animals flee or freeze when faced with an imminent threat กช mothers stay put to protect their babies. And neuroscientists from Lisbonกฏs Champalimaud Centre have discovered the secret ingredient which makes mothers fight rather than flee - it's the กฎbondingกฏ or love hormone, oxytocin.

The new study examined mothers' defensive behaviour and how oxytocin regulates their reactions.

The scientists placed female rats whoกฏd recently had babies and placed them in a 'threatening' situation. Firstly alone and afterwards with their babies beside them.

And when the babies were present จC the mummy rats acted differently.

The scientists created the experiment by training the rats to associate a peppermint scent with an imminent but mild electric shock. After the conditioning, the rats perceived the peppermint scent as a threat and froze.

Then the scientists placed the babies in with their mothers and released the peppermint scent again. But the mother rats didnกฏt freeze like they had when they were alone. Instead, they tried to protect their bubs by actually attacking the tube where the odour was coming from or even trying to block the tube with pieces of material from their nests.

Finally, when the scientists actually blocked oxytocin activity in the mothers' brains, the mothers started to freeze up again when they were threatened กช ditching their protective instincts.

"We developed a new experiment that allows us to study the mother's defensive behavior either in the presence or the absence of her pups, while at the same time testing whether oxytocin's action ... is required for the regulation of this behaviour,กฑ said Marta Moita, who led the study.

Fascinating stuff - and if you've been in a threatening situation with your children like I have (touch wood) กช you'll know firsthand how it plays out in real life.

In my mama bear moment I didn't freeze in a panic but despite a racing heart and shortness of breath, I thought of my children immediately and felt clear-headed.

My scary incident happened one night when I was parking in my back lane. A woman crossed the lane and stopped in front of my car.

When she turned to look at me I knew we were in strife. She pulled a knife and came rushing toward us. I pressed the window buttons and they wound up just in time. I pressed the automatic lock button and locked all the doors before she pulled at the handle. I said calmly to my two screaming children, 'Undo your seat belts sweethearts and get down on the floor of the car NOW.กฏ

As she climbed onto the bonnet and started stabbing at the windscreen I told them to close their eyes. I revved the engine hoping she would get off. I beeped the horn. I thought she was going to smash through the glass. But then she got off, but not before saying: กฐIกฏm going to come back and kill you, you F*&^%ing bitch."

Shaken จC I watched her walk away and hiding the waver in my voice, told the children everything was fine. Then I drove around for a while in case she was watching for our address and I called the police. And then I cried. A lot.

9Honey Food Editor Jane de Graaff?has also experienced the power of a mama bear moment and the come down afterwards, when she found herself in a dangerous situation with her newborn baby.

"I had one very particular moment that clarified the fight or flight instinct in a mother for me.

When my first bub was just a few weeks old I went to a cafจฆ with my mum. It was a tiny space and there were only four other women in the place. While we were there a young guy, aggressive and high on drugs entered, rampaged the cafจฆ, threatening the owner and blocked the exit. He was turning over chairs, smashing water jugs and screaming at everyone.

Two things happened in that moment. First, a small group of women that I had never met clustered around me making a barrier between themselves, the threat and my baby, telling me to leave everything, take the baby and get ready to run.

Second, I realised that if he came anywhere near my child, I would have killed him rather than let him harm my baby. There was no other option available to my adrenalin-soaked mind except to protect my baby at all costs. I clocked every possibly exit strategy in a fraction of a second, weighed up all my options and clearly made decisions about what was worth moving for and what was not, all while taking in exactly what everyone around me was saying and doing. I have never extended my sensory perceptions so far in my life, and I have no doubt that if tested, my strength would have been super human in the face of the threat to my baby."

Thankfully on that day, Jane and her newborn got out safely and once outside cried horrified tears.

"I still get shaky and breathless when I think about that moment," says Jane. "But I also know 100 percent that there is a chemical reaction that turns mothers into protectors capable of just about anything to keep their babies safe from a threat. I was far from frozen that day. Instead, every tiny muscle twitch became about assessing what was needed to protect my baby. I hope to never face that part of myself again."

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