Yesterday, I popped in to see a friend who was babysitting an 8 month-old who had an especially despondent cry. The kind of keening that triggered my let down reflex and demanded that I pick this child up. She imediately sniffed me and assumed the nursing position. I almost nursed her out of sympathy, but it was a physical reflex before it was an emotional one. Now, I don’t breastfeed strangers’ babies but I was surprised that my body responded so quickly to a child I’d never met before.
Now the intellect can catch up with what the milk ducts know. …read more

Does this news from USA Today’s Health Scout surprise anyone?

New moms with colicky babies are more likely to suffer from postpartum depression than other new moms, a new study shows.
Researchers from Brown Medical School and the Rhode Island Department of Health analyzed data collected from more than 2,900 new mothers.
They found that 19 percent reported moderate to severe symptoms of postpartum depression, and 8 percent reported that their babies were difficult to console. Mothers who reported postpartum depression were more than twice as likely to report difficult-to-console babies, and mothers with inconsolable babies were more than two times as likely …read more