Le toucher maternel « gentle touch»: une invitation à une danse tactile ?

Gentle Touch Stimulations (GTS) are moments of gentle affective touch that provide optimal stimulation of C-tactile (CT) neurons. Research has shown that this specific subclass of unmyelinated mechanosensory cutaneous sensory skin nerves play a key role in the physiological regulation of the autonomic nervous system and the social development of infants. The objective of this study was to examine the impact of a daily GTS intervention on the frequency and duration of maternal GTS during the period of reunion time after a Still Face (SF) procedure. To answer this question, an intervention group (GTS) was compared to a control group (CTRL), with infants aged 6 to 12 weeks. Data was collected during two points in time with a one-month gap between both moments. We performed a second-by-second micro-analysis of three types of touch during the time of reunion: (i) GTS touch, (ii) physical contact, and (iii) absence of physical contact. Our results showed that over time the average duration of GTS became significantly shorter in both groups and that this duration seemed to correspond to the average of present moments. Moments without physical contact decreased more in the GTS group than in the CTRL group. In addition, the maximum duration of physical contact (non-GTS touch) became longer in both groups. We suggest that the GTS might become more efficient over time and therefore shorter in duration to achieve its regulatory effect. We, furthermore, offer a reflection on the role that GTS could play in the development of intersubjectivity using Stern’s present moment theories of intersubjectivity.