Study Links Delayed Cord Clamping to Improved Social & Motor Development

Swedish researchers have associated delayed clamping of a newborn’s umbilical cord with higher social and fine-motor skills in preschool boys. The findings, published today in JAMA Pediatrics, are of particular interest to those in the autism community who have suspected premature cord clamping as causing...

The First 72 Hours Postpartum – The Little Things Make All the Difference

During pregnancy, we focus so much on the birth itself, that we often overlook the postpartum time; we write birth plans but don’t plan for what our needs will be after baby arrives. This time is so precious and fleeting; taking a moment to think through those first few hours, days, and even weeks to...

Childhood Trauma Leads to Brains Wired for Fear

Negative childhood experiences can set our brains to constantly feel danger and fear says psychiatrist and traumatic stress expert Bessel van der Kolk. He’s the author of the recently published book, The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. A recent report by the...

Your Child Should Never Be Forced to Hug Anyone (Yes, Including a Relative) – Here Are 7 Reasons Why

Your Child Should Never Be Forced to Hug Anyone (Yes, Including a Relative) – Here Are 7 Reasons Why – KidsLoversCenter  Content Warnings: incest, rape, and sexual violence) Two of my good friends had their first baby late this past year.From the get-go, Baby was a cuddly little girl. (Or, as her two...

The Importance of Imaginative Play

The other day my grandchild was playing dress up and asked me and her grandpa to be her audience. She decided to have a fashion show, and even asked for pencil and paper so she could write down her name and give us her autograph. This image took me back to my own childhood of orchestrating plays on the back...

A timeline of a baby’s first hour

Back when I worked in a lab, I spent countless hours diligently watching fruit flies mate. It was a strange job — both extremely scandalous and extremely boring. But lots of scientists are also voyeurs, I swear. And those tedious observations were a good way to learn about instinctual behaviors. So I was a...