If it works, is it right? We take a look at both sides of the argument.

Attachment Parenting is often thought of as an approach to parenting young children. Nurse practitioner, therapist, and coauthor of Mothering & Daughtering, Sil Reynolds, explains why it's vital to continue Attachment Parenting through the teen years.

Experiencing "toxic stress" can put kids at a lifelong disadvantage. "I’m so stressed out," is, perhaps, the top complaint for many Americans these days. But it turns out many people are feeling stressed even before they’re old enough to complain about it. The American Academy of Pediatrics is now recommending that pediatricians screen toddlers for signs of "toxic stress" as part of routine examinations. But what does that mean, exactly, for parents, for kids, and for doctors?

The link between a mother and child is profound, and new research suggests a physical connection even deeper than anyone thought. The profound psychological and physical bonds shared by the mother and her child begin during gestation when the mother is everything for the developing fetus, supplying warmth and sustenance, while her heartbeat provides a soothing constant rhythm.

Many women may have an over abundance of breastmilk after their child is born. However, some may not have enough, and are in constant worry about how they are going to properly feed their child. A new study shows that support from other women to overcome their doubts regarding lactation may help provide hope and education for other mothers encountering the same difficulties. 

Maternal Sociodemographic Characteristics and the Use of the Iowa Infant Attitude Feeding Scale to Describe Breastfeeding Initiation and Duration in a Population of Urban, Latina Mothers: A Prospective Cohort Study

"One day we asked him [Shawn Baker, a public health expert with Helen Keller International] where he would invest a billion dollars if he had it.

"'To me, the next big win in saving kids’ lives is breast-feeding promotion,” he said. “It’s absolutely unacceptable that more than 800,000 kids are dying annually of suboptimal breast-feeding.'

The Milky Way is a film to empower mothers. The Milky Way reveals the real power vested in women's bodies and how that affects their babies - even the tiniest of preemies. This profound capacity inherent in a woman's body has been ignored, overlooked, and dismissed since the time that providing women's health care became lucrative.

In the breastfeeding domain, the people who write denialist headlines know that science has a persistent habit of going against the relativistic, "whatever feels right for you is therefore right" modern mindset. Consequently such science becomes taboo in order to protect the numbers of people whose feelings may be hurt, and who might feel guilty because of the implications. But unfortunately for these people, hurt feelings and guilt do not disprove the findings. Biology is non-negotiable, and does not bend to relativism.

Initial choices about breastfeeding will likely influence future breastfeeding decisions, so breastfeeding interventions should specifically target new mothers. Mothers with other children also need additional encouragement to maintain breastfeeding until 6 months of age.

Babies who are breastfed show signs of early brain development, particularly in regions associated with language, emotional function, and cognition.

At more than 70 percent, the frequency of initiating breastfeeding in the United States is high. However, attrition rates in the first weeks and months after discharge from the newborn nursery are substantial. Why?

Learn how hormones help to coordinate a baby's need for milk (sucking or crying) with a woman's release of milk in this Khan Academy video.

Babies' milk teeth carry their early food history, and this record remains stable for tens of thousands of years. 
We know at least six months of exclusive breastfeeding is the best start to a baby’s life. What’s amazing is it seems ancient hominids knew that too.

Henci Goer takes a look at the recent study on prescribing bed rest for the prevention of preterm birth.  Despite not preventing a premature baby, and even possibly increasing the likelihood, it is still routinely recommended for pregnant women.

Childbirth Connection’s national Listening to Mothers surveys describe women’s childbearing experiences from before pregnancy through the postpartum period and their views about these matters. Two new 2013 reports describe results from initial and follow-up Listening to Mothers surveys of women who gave birth in 2011-12. The surveys were conducted by Harris Interactive and funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

Associations Between First-Time Expectant Women's Representations of Attachment and Their Physiological Reactivity to Infant Cry

Perhaps you've seen the video recently posted describing Fred Rogers as an "evil" man who "ruined a generation of children" because his message to young children - that they are special just for being who they are - leads to narcissism and attitudes of entitlement. If kids believe they are special, a commentator asks, why should they work hard and try to do better?