For the first time, a new study published in the December issue of The Journal of Pediatrics  proves that delayed clamping, allowsing a return of the infant’s own blood from the placenta, has measurable positive effects on infant development. The study demonstrates that a 5 minute delay can increase baby’s iron-rich blood cells by up to 50%, boosting iron stores and brain myelin in areas important for early-life functional development.

The study, conducted by certified nurse-midwives Prof Debra A. Erickson-Owens, and emeritus Prof  Judith S. Mercer, “shows that waiting five minutes or more before clamping the umbilical cord, while infants are held skin-to-skin with the mother, leads to more myelin development,” Prof Erickson-Owens said. “This is a low-tech, low-cost technique that we believe can mitigate iron deficiency and vulnerability to anemia.

This post on from “Women’s Health Today” describes in depth studies of Breastfeeding an its key role in creating nurturing supportive environment for infants. A 2009  study of 2,900 mother-infant pairs, found breastfeeding for one year was associated with better child mental health at every age up to age 14. Issues ranging from breastfeeding, maternal depression, abuse and sleep patterns and their impacts on long term health are addressed.

Is co-sleeping biologically appropriate? For breastfeeding mothers, bedsharing makes breastfeeding easier to manage and practically doubles the amount of breastfeeding sessions while permitting both mothers and infants to spend more time asleep. There is an irrepressible neurologically-based infant responses to maternal smells, movements and touch that reduce infant crying while positively regulating infant breathing, body temperature, absorption of calories, stress hormone levels, immune status, and oxygenation. In short, it makes babies happy - it happens is because it is meant to.

The crying of a distressed baby is one of the most powerful human sounds. It triggers an urgent response in all of us. There’s a biological imperative to react, but still “people say” to much cuddling will “make a spoilt child”. Now, new research confirms that our instincts are correct: picking up babies today creates happier, more mentally stable adults in the future. You can’t spoil your baby - and we do them harm if we don’t comfort them when they are distressed