Babies are carried on the left, toddlers on the right

Even artistic representations reflect this behavior: “The Virgin Mary is usually depicted cradling the baby Jesus in the crook of her left arm.” According to studies, the preference for keeping to the left has been shown to occur across cultures and ethnic groups and across centuries. .

Theories of heart rate and sensory perception
Van der Meer now examined existing data and meta-analyses on the subject for a review article. One theory is that a baby is carried primarily on the left arm because this allows him to hear the heartbeat better.

Another theory is related to sensory perception: the left ear and eye are used to receive information about the emotional state of the baby – signals from the left are sent to the right hemisphere of the brain, which is specialized in interpreting emotions and faces.

Or just to have the ‘better’ arm free?
According to van der Meer, there is probably a much simpler reason: you want to have your ‘better’ arm free so you can continue to use it – and ‘nine out of ten people in the world are right-handed’. There are many photos of Prince William carrying one of his children as a baby with his right arm. “He is left-handed,” said van der Meer. Princess Kate, on the other hand, is right-handed and, like most people, tends to hold babies in her left arm.

The ‘stronger arm’ will follow later
The fact that the left arm is preferred only applies to babies: “As children grow larger and heavier, most people tend to carry them with their dominant and stronger arm,” it says. Van der Meer’s review was published online in December in the magazine Infanty.