Studies have shown that adolescents and adults who were born prematurely have poorer social abilities. However, there were no studies that relate these results to the type of care they received while in the neonatal intensive care unit. The study we want to share shows, once more, the importance of skin to skin contact, as…
A recent study from the University of Louisiana (summarized below) has discovered that some mothers with postpartum depression have an “altered expression of oxytocin receptors”. Oxytocin is the hormone of love, human connection and wellbeing; it is produced at high levels during birth and breastfeeding and it is intimately involved in the mother-infant bond, as…
Some dyads (mother-infant pair) start their breastfeeding relationship in harsh circumstances. Frequently, due to medicalized births and unfavorable hospital routines, there are so many interferences to initiate breastfeeding that by the time mother and baby arrive home they are already using bottles and formula – despite mother having desired to exclusively breastfeed. These mothers often…
In many women’s minds, birth and epidural go together. But how many of us are conscious of the impact of this routine intervention on birth and the days that follow? According to Dr Sarah Buckley, author of Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering, its effects can significantly alter birth progression and have an impact on the woman´s…
What baby expects after birth is to breastfeed, at mother´s breast. So if a mother is going to bottlefeed, it should feel to the baby as much as breastfeeding as possible. In modern western culture, there is no substitute for a breastfeeding mother [1]. But anyone can feed the baby with a bottle. There are…
We proudly announce the scholarship grants awarded by the European Institute for Perinatal Mental Health for the Breastfeeding and Mental Health Training course (October 2019 – June 2020). Although we initially offered 5 full scholarships, we have received so many applications we have decided to grant a total of 12, as we are certain…
During the 19th century, more than half of all infants who were left in orphanages died during their first year of lifefrom a condition then called marasmus, a word derived from Greek, meaning consumption. This illness was also known as infantile weakness or atrophy. As late as 1920´s, the death rate of infants of…
By Ibone Olza, MD PhD. Psyquiatrist. Associate Professor at Universidad de Alcalá. Director of the European Perinatal Mental Health Institute Breastfeeding today seems to be more difficult than mothers imagine or expect. In a North American study, of 1500 mothers who expressed their desire to exclusively breastfeed, only 39% were managing to do so at two…
By Kerstin Uvnäs Moberg Not only milk production and milk ejection are driven by the suckling stimulus and subsequent oxytocin release, maternal physiology and behavior/psychology are also subjected to many changes during the lactation period in order to facilitate adaptation to motherhood. The mother may overreact to some types of physical stress, when perceived…
A UN report published in April 2019 warns against “the widespread and systematic phenomenon of violence towards women and girls in reproductive services”, and urges states to “address the structural problems and root causes of violence against women in reproductive health services, with a focus on childbirth and obstetric violence.” We publish below an…
