**5. Self and co-regulation**

Infants are born with a limited capacity for self-regulation. The mother, or primary caregiver, offers their nervous system and physiological systems to function as a dyadic pair, and together they stabilize and manage the immature regulatory functions of the infant. The maternal functioning serves to soothe, comfort and stabilize dysregulated states, typical of an immature nervous system, while simultaneously providing emotional and physical nourishment. Through the functions of care and nourishment, infant emotional regulation capacity develops through the dyadic
