"“The key takeaway is that without adequate parent-child relationship quality to match, socioeconomic advantage during childhood may not offer much protection at all against major chronic disease as children become adults and reach middle age.”"

"Why do some people perform better than others under emotionally stressful conditions? The clue might lie in early childhood experiences, a recent study published in the open access online journal, Frontiers in Human Neurosciencefound.

Emotional bonds with our primary caregiver or parent in early childhood are thought to be the basis of our ability to regulate our emotions as adults."

As parents, we’re peacemakers by default.

After more than a decade of Attachment Parenting, this way of relating to my children has become my way of relating overall -- to other people and to the natural world. I can't help but want to share that peace beyond my home, and a definite way I try to do this is to nurture my children's innate curiosity and awe of the natural world.

API Leader and mother of 3, Rita Brhel shares more on API's blog.

Peace in our world, our nations, our communities, our homes, ourselves -- we all want it, but it can seem unattainable in the societies where we live. Or is it? On this International Day of Peace, API is excited to announce the theme of this year's Attachment Parenting Month beginning October 1. Learn more on API's blog.

You can tell a lot about a person by their shopping cart -- and also how they deal with their toddler's tantrum in the middle of the store. Clean-up needed in Aisle 9 -- 3 year old having a meltdown after being in the store for 2 hours while Mom is looking for gravy packets. Wouldn't it make sense to put the gravy packets next to the instant potatoes and boxed stuffing?!

API Leader, mother of 3, and API Editor Rita Brhel muses on API's blog about the benefit of mindfulness when faced with a child's tantrum in the middle of the grocery store.

I thought to myself how it is apparent that she didn’t blend in with the crowd, and I felt a little tug in my stomach.

Mother of 2, API Assistant Editor Effie Morchi reminds us on API's blog to celebrate our child's uniqueness rather than trying to force conformity.

"We also know that kids are more prone to addictive escape if they feel alone, alienated, purposeless and bored. Thus the solution is often to help kids to connect to meaningful real-life experiences and flesh-and-blood relationships. The engaged child tethered to creative activities and connected to his or her family is less likely to escape into the digital fantasy world. Yet even if a child has the best and most loving support, he or she could fall into the Matrix once they engage with hypnotic screens and experience their addicting effect.

"The biggest killers during and after pregnancy in Texas are cardiac problems and overdoses involving prescription opioids and illegal drugs, according to a recent report by a task force created by the Texas Legislature. It also found that maternal mortality was much higher for black women in Texas than for white and Hispanic women."

CAPPA’s annual conference and convention offers you–the leaders in perinatal education and support–current evidenced-based practices while encouraging you to break out of your shell while moving forward in your passion, ultimately navigating toward your purpose and destiny.   

“Positive parental attachment in the earliest years is vital for healthy social and emotional development,” said Heather Matthews, Boulder County Public Health Family Health Division Manager. “Supporting parents to continue bonding with their child after returning to work is an important step toward helping children grow up to be healthy and productive. This ultimately leads to healthy and prosperous communities. Allowing parents to continue bonding can also reduce post-partum depression and make breastfeeding easier and more practical.”

"“When I was growing up, breastfeeding was not a part of my narrative. It wasn’t blatantly discouraged but it wasn’t present either. I think that this absence can lend itself to misinformation, or the inability to see ourselves and our bodies as capable. I just want black women to see that we can and we do breastfeed and it’s beautiful. Whatever way we choose to feed our children, breastfeeding should be a part of those options.”"

"Every mom knows that support is essential to a successful breastfeeding relationship with her baby. So, in honor of National Breastfeeding Month, let’s honor and acknowledge the different areas of support that are needed."

"What I remember is the nuzzling and the cooing and the warmth of skin against skin, heartbeat to heartbeat, my babies looking into my eyes and holding my fingers and suckling while I rocked and felt them pull life from my body. Truly, it was the most amazing feeling EVER.

Like love personified."

"A new study of women 20 years after undergoing surgery for primary breast cancer shows that breastfeeding for longer than 6 months is associated with a better survival rate. Among breast cancer survivors who breastfed for >6 months, both breast cancer mortality and overall mortality risk were less after 20 years, according to the study published in Breastfeeding Medicine, the official journal of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers."

If you are reading this after a sleepless night where you were kicked much, or had to get up to comfort your child, be assured: Attachment Parenting will be worth it in the end. Educational and peace-building consultant, and father of 2, David J. Smith reflects on API's blog about his parenting journey as his 22-year-old son leaves for the Peace Corps.