Touch plays an important role in the development of infants and children. In this review, we highlight the neural conditioning of affective touch and the related physiological responses, especially in the form of parasympathetic activation, pain suppression and stress relief. Based on recent studies, we show that the functionality of a population of C-tactile (CT) nerve fibers, hypothesized to provide the neurobiological substrate for the transmission of interpersonal touch, is already mature in the newborn and that the developmentally beneficial effects of such touch are already evident at this stage. We further aim to shed light on the role of nurturing touch in stimulating CT fibers. Based on this, we hypothesize that CT stimulation acts as a reinforcer that contributes to the development of newborns into social beings by means of conditioning.