Most people around the world carry babies in their left arms

Most people cradle babies in their left arm. According to studies, the preference to stay left is evident across cultures and ethnic groups and across centuries. A scientist now shows that this is because most people are right-handed.

Audrey van der Meer from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim examined existing data and meta-analyses on this topic for the study, which was published in the journal Infanty.

One theory says that a baby is mainly carried on the left arm, because then he can hear the heartbeat better: In almost all people, the heart is on the left side.

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.

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 ‘9 out of 10 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,” says 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 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. (sda/dpa)