by Ibone Olza, perinatal psychiatrist Cooperate or compete. Trust or fear. Share or fight. Accompany or isolate. In the end, there are only two states: love or fear, and one is the absence of the other. The more love, less fear. The more fear, less love (in the words of Abuela Margarita). Hard choices,…
by Carmela K Baeza, MD, IBCLC As I was looking at images of mothers with facemasks and their newborns, I kept wondering what kind of a shock this would be for the baby. Babies are wired to look at their parents´ faces and learn to read and to express emotions from birth. A perinatal…
By Ana G Uriarte MD, child & adolescent psychiatrist and systemic therapist. Love is the foundation of health – this is what I felt compelled to remember today. I am not giving recommendations of “what to do” with babies, toddlers and children during these times. There are many, and many of the good, ideas…
by Ibnoe Olza, perinatal psychiatrist Dear midwife, How are you? I have spoken with several of your colleagues, others have written to me. They have told me of your feelings of frustration and impotence, of your exhaustion, of your giving of self. Of the difficult job you are facing in your birthing rooms since the…
Richard Fletcher, SMS4dads program for new dads. Dear new or soon-to-be fathers Providing the care and support to a pregnant mother and then discovering your fathering role within your new family is an exciting and important task, which has few guidelines. We hope you’re going okay and managing the highs and lows. We also want…
As the world prioritizes physical distance to detain or slow down the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), a new study from Florida Atlantic University shows that physical contact between mother and infant is essential for optimal neurological development, maturation and regulation during infancy. Mother-infant dyads show high oxytocin levels and are less impacted by stress, which…
