John Medina is a developmental molecular biologist at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He studies human brain development and occasionally presents lectures on baby brain development. He recently wrote a book titled "Brain Rules for Baby" to answer the common questions and concerns routinely posed to him by parents and guardians during these lectures.
Because Medina's goal is to satisfy his audiences, he delivers simple, easily executable prescriptions for parents to follow. He doesn't attempt to build the reader's specific understanding of brain development so, as the reader, you have to trust his prescriptions without understanding exactly from where the prescriptions stem. This was disappointing for me for the following reason: I wanted to learn from an expert of brain development about the impacts of differing parenting styles and strategies on an infant's brain development and future functioning (disposition, personality, thrill seeking, etc) so that I could gain some understanding on the subject and personally make an informed decision of how to parent my child for my desired results (as my desired results may - and probably do - differ from the general public's).
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Despite the fact that, at approach, my expectations were misaligned with Medina's intent, I enjoyed reading "Brain Rules for Baby." I think the book is well organized, digestible, and adequately detailed, without seeming long-winded (on any more than a select few occasions).
The biggest prescriptions in the book:
1. A happy marriage makes a happy baby (hostility harms the development of brain and nervous system)
2. A safe environment enables learning (baby can't learn if it fears its surroundings)
3. Pay attention to and respond to your baby's emotions (when you respond, baby feels safe; the display of and encouragement of empathy is integral for your child's future ability to form good friendships)
4. Talk to your baby a lot (when you talk, you are increasing your baby's vocabulary; communication is one of the key ingredients of intelligence, along with the desire to explore and creativity)
Some more specific notables:
5. Breastfeeding is a brain booster for your baby
6. Fit women have to push less in delivery! (work out during pregnancy, but don't overheat the baby)
I like that Medina's advice is baby-centered; he appears to make his prescriptions out of consideration for the baby's healthy brain development rather than as a method to satisfy a parental desire to make the baby "x, y, and z." He explains that baby needs must be met first and foremost and provides the reader with plenty of reasons to want to do this (the strongest being: if you don't do this, then trying to do your "x,y, and z" won't work). I would recommend "Brain Rules for Baby" to anyone looking for some light reading on the fundamentals of pregnancy and early parenting.
Are there any studies done linking breastfeeding (for various lengths) - vs. not - with correlating results? I keep hearing that but can't understand what the optimal length would be after which it's not as impactful to necessarily continue breastfeeding.
ReplyDeleteWhat are your thoughts from the various books you've read so far?
I don't know that any studies have been done comparing different lengths of breastfeeding and outcome (and I would question what "result" is measured in: overall baby health, future intelligence, something else altogether?). It is, however, a well established fact that a diet of exclusively breast milk is sufficient for the baby's optimal development in the first 6 months.
ReplyDeleteBeyond that point, there are many factors to consider when deciding whether to continue: baby and mother desire/willingness, a mother's ability to continue (it is possible for the mother to no longer be capable of producing a sufficient quantity of milk for the baby), external family or work circumstances, health problems, etc. Weaning before the baby is ready for solids (which occurs, from my understanding, at about one and half years of age) means turning it onto formula. Your feelings about formula feeding will likely influence what you decide to do.
I would recommend "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding" by La Leche League International for further information. I read parts of the 7th edition borrowed from the library and found it to be a really great resource for these types of questions. I ended up buying the 8th edition because I think this is a book I will go back to with questions as they come up.