Kissing: The Kiss was developed for protecting babies say scientists

November 2, 2009 by Baby Chums
Filed under: Baby Health, News, Pregnancy

The kiss was developed, “to spread germs” and inoculate females pre-pregnancy say scientists.

Kissing was engineered as a way of passing germs, particularly from male to female which build up immunity to illness through the most efficient method, the kiss. Scientists say, kissing the same person for about six months provides the best protection.

The gesture which has always been seen as romantic in nature may in fact be critical in protecting unborn babies. The bug called, “Cytomegalovirus”, is passed from man to woman to give her time to build up immunity and whilst dangerous in pregnancy it can be a killer for babies and cause birth defects.

Dr Colin Hendrie from the University of Leeds, a researcher writing in the journal Medical Hypotheses, said: “Female inoculation with a specific male’s cytomegalovirus is most efficiently achieved through mouth-to-mouth contact and saliva exchange, particularly where the flow of saliva is from the male to the typically shorter female.”

Kisses become more passionate the further the relationship develops and the woman’s immunity builds up, this reduces the chances of her becoming ill and more importantly for human survival, risking the baby’s health.

Previously scientists have claimed that kissing acts as a form of evolutionary quality control, with saliva holding clues to fertility, health and genes.