You could take it as an insult, but God does not credit us with being rocket scientists when it comes to taking care of the next generation. Instead he pre-programs caregiving behavior on the part of mothers AND he pre-programs babies to elicit caregiving from their mothers. An obvious example is how a nursing mother's breasts gush milk in response to hungry-baby sounds. Just in case she can't figure it out from the way her baby is frantically mouthing anything that gets near...her breasts start to tingle and next thing she knows, the front of her shirt is milky. It is not the most subtle of hints. But considering how tiny and vulnerable babies are, it's a hint to heed. This milk-ejection reflex subsides after the first few months of nursing. By that time a nursing mother and her baby have sync'ed up well and the mother knows her baby's subtlest signs of need for nursing.

But it doesn't stop there. Babies are vulnerable and helpless and yet by design they are powerfully able to elicit the kind of care that actually builds their brains. Anyone who has been around a young baby who is in a state of quiet alertness knows that the baby loves to make eye contact and to interact in many ways. It turns out that this kind of interaction helps to physically frame the brain for future sociability. It was once thought that babies' brains were fairly complete at birth, but science has shown that they actually are rather open at birth, ready to be custom-wired from the baby's own experiences. Neural pathways in the baby's brain develop in response to the experiences the baby has. When experiences are repeated, a threshold is reached that cues the brain to hardwire that pathway, and experiences that aren't repeated leave pathways that are eventually subject to pruning. The baby's experiences form a physical framework for organizing the brain. And notice how you don't have to be a rocket scientist. Your baby woos you into the very interaction that will build his brain. The mother's close proximity--her smell, her voice, her facial structure--put her baby into that state of quiet alertness that promotes the baby's ability to elicit the interaction. Meanwhile the baby's nearness, smell, softness, etc, evokes a pleasant hormonal reaction in the mother that heightens her sense of satisfaction in caring for her baby. Mother and baby form a wonderful feedback loop together.

Parents of newborns usually notice that motion soothes their babies. The baby fusses and seems uncomfortable, we pick the baby up, and he seems more content, more comfortable. Thus we discover a powerful parenting tool. Scientists have discovered it too. A study showed that carrying reduces crying in infants. Ah--well fortunately it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that!  But did you know this? The study examined what happened when babies were carried more than just the normal holding for feedings or soothing the upset baby. Those babies who received the extra carrying cried between 40 and 50% less each day than the babies in the control group.  

A mother once told me the fact that her newborn settled down when she picked him up was evidence that her newborn was manipulative. He calmed down out of satisfaction at having gotten his way. Our own attempts at psychoanalytical rocket science, you see, are not too impressive. Newborns aren't capable of stringing together the kind of cognition it would take to form and execute a plan to dominate the will of his parents.

But Interestingly, when we pick up our newborn baby he quiets almost as if by magic--for many reasons, many of which are unknown to most parents, and certainly unknown to the baby, who somehow is nevertheless programmed to elicit the very care that helps him develop. For instance the motion of picking up the baby stimulates the baby's vestibular system. It turns out that this important system (which helps regulate our sense of balance) needs motion--up and down and side to side--as it develops. Watch parents of newborns unknowingly develop their babies' vestibular systems as they gently rock their babies in their arms, up and down, side to side.  Possibly of greater significance, the close contact as well as the need-and-response loop between baby and parent builds a close attachment. Attachment is the word used to signify the basic trust that builds between the baby and caregiver as these interactions unfold.

This is an excellent tip sheet for parents for learning about babies' attachment promoting "language":   

http://cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetails.aspx?p=114&np=122&id=1931

This excellent article, The Chemistry of Attachment, further details the many ways we are biologically programmed to become attentive caregivers for our babies.  God does the rocket scientist thing better than anyone!