Infant animals who
stayed close to their mothers had higher levels of
growth hormones and enzymes essential for brain and
heart growth. Separation from their mothers, or lack
of interaction with their mothers when they were
close by, caused the levels of these
growth-promoting substances to fall.
Clearly, the
continued presence of a nurturing mother is
important for the infant's physiological and
emotional well-being. A secure mother-infant
attachment helps an infant's physiological systems
work better. Attachment organizes a baby's overall
physiological systems; separation disorganizes them.
And a baby with a disorganized physiology or
disorganized biorhythms can be at increased risk of
SIDS.
Attachment
researchers use the two physiological parameters of
heartrate and heartrate variability (how well the
heart changes in response to changing physiological
needs) as a sort of efficiency indicator of an
infant's physiological well-being. Studies showed
that breastfeeding newborns had lower heartrates,
more heartrate variability, improved behavioral
organization, and more active sleep than
bottlefeeding newborns. Also, the investigators
concluded that breastfeeding newborns show a more
energy efficient behavioral organization than that
of bottlefed newborns. These studies suggest the
physiology of a bottlefeeding baby may be like an
automobile engine that is not tuned up.
2. Attachment
parenting helps babies thrive.
If, as we have seen, an in-arms
baby cries less and is less anxious, and therefore
consumes less energy, I conclude that the infant has
more "free time" to divert that energy that would
have been wasted worrying and fussing into thriving.
To thrive means more than just growing bigger; it
means an infant grows to her fullest potential,
physically, intellectually, and physiologically.
Attachment-parented
babies feed more frequently, an interaction that
itself improves growth and overall behavioral
organization. One of the oldest recipes for the
failing to thrive baby is "take your baby to bed and
nurse." As previously discussed, attachment promotes
growth hormones
and enzymes that enhance brain growth in experimental animals.
Growth hormone is secreted primarily during sleep.
Endocrinologists have discovered that human infants
deprived of sufficient attachment have lower growth
hormones and fail to thrive -- a malady called
psychosocial deprivation. From these studies can we
infer that attachment-parented babies have higher
levels of growth-promoting hormones? Someday, I
predict, research will confirm what I have long
suspected: attachment-parented infants have higher
levels of substances that enhance their overall
physiological well-being, and boost a baby's
self-protective abilities as well. So, it seems that
mother, by attachment parenting, could act as a
regulator of her infant's physiology, especially
during the "developmental dip," the crucial 2-4
months when an infant is physiologically
disadvantaged and at highest risk of SIDS.
If attachment
parenting puts an infant at a physiological
advantage to survive the vulnerable period for SIDS,
does that imply a baby who receives a more distant
style of parenting is at a physiological
disadvantage? I believe it does. During my 30 years
as a pediatrician I have cared for infants called
failure to thrive babies -- infants who aren't
developing to their physical and psychological
potential. And, often unintentionally, this
condition can be due to poor quality of
mother-infant attachment. For the past 30 years
pediatric textbooks have documented cases of
"failure to thrive" secondary to poor attachment.
Simply put, a baby who feels right, grows right; but
an infant who receives less attachment than he needs
to thrive feels psychologically unright, and this
feeling translates into being physiologically
unright.
3. Attachment
parenting makes you an expert on your baby.
Besides doing good things for babies, attachment
parenting helps mothers too. One of the pieces of
advice I give new parents during their first
well-baby checkup is: "You don't have to become an
expert on parenting, but you must become an expert
on your baby, because no one else will." While it is
true that many babies dying of SIDS give no warning
signs that their last breath is imminent, some
babies do give clues that something is not quite
right. Attachment parenting can also boost your
sensitivity, helping you monitor your baby
appropriately. Studies have shown that improving
mothering skills can lower SIDS rates. The
Sheffield, England, study showed that high risk
families who received special parenting-skill
education had a SIDS rate of 3.2 per thousand
compared with 10.6 per thousand who received no
special attention. While this extra education did
not specifically mention "attachment parenting" the
mother's were encouraged to breastfeed, and it seems
that the closer the mothers got to their babies the
more they were able to recognize subtle signs of
illness and respond intuitively with a level of care
that improved their baby's well-being.
Attachment parenting
is especially valuable for babies born prematurely.
By breastfeeding, sleeping with her baby, and
wearing her baby, mother provides a backup system
for baby's immaturity. Little things mean a lot for
infants at risk for SIDS. Attachment parenting makes
you more likely to pick up on subtle changes in your
baby, and because you know so much about him, you
know when and how you need to intervene. You know
where and in what position baby sleeps best, how to
heat baby's room, when to seek medical attention,
even when to clean out his stuffy nose. You are able
to spot changes -- for the better and for the worse.
The self-training of an attached mother reminds me
very much of how the U.S. Department of Treasury
trains people to spot counterfeit money. The
spotters spend a long time learning what real money
is like. They get a feel for real money. As a
result, as soon as a counterfeit piece comes along,
it triggers a "not right" alarm inside them, and
they spot it. (See and
)
4. There is a
mutual giving in attachment parenting that can be
lifesaving. Mother acts as a regulator of her
infant's physiology, and her infant helps her
develop a keen sensitivity. True, the infant is a
remarkably sturdy little person, able to adjust and
grow in a wide variety of parenting situations. But
perhaps some need extra help. Could SIDS in some
babies be a disease of physiological
disorganization? Could attachment parenting help to
counteract this disorganization by decreasing stress
and providing an environment that makes up for the
baby's inability to regulate himself? Could
attachment parenting aid in the maturation of the
respiratory control system so that an infant is able
to survive threats to his breathing? These are
unanswered, perhaps unanswerable, questions, yet I
believe the available evidence, plus a dose of
common sense, makes a good case for the idea that a
mother, because of the organizing effect she has on
her infant's physiology, provides protection against
SIDS.
Suggesting a
relationship between parenting styles and SIDS is
bound to draw fire from critics who still think that
parenting practices play no role in SIDS, or who do
not wish to place so much emphasis on the importance
of the mother-baby relationship. I wonder if modern
parenting focuses on too much "stuff" and not enough
touch, and if modern baby-care practices are a
trade-off of increased convenience for increased
risk. It may be considered politically incorrect to
speculate on this kind of life-or-death role for a
mother; yet for a few infants it may be
physiologically correct. Over the past twenty years
the importance of the mother to her infant's
well-being has been diluted by social and economic
changes to the extent that the modern view of
attachment parenting is that it is nice but not
necessary. I challenge that view. As soon as we open
our eyes to the time-honored fact that mothering
matters, the better off -- and perhaps safer --
babies will be. My wish is that you practice
attachment parenting, not just to prevent SIDS, but
because you believe it is the best for you and your
baby. By receiving the gift of attachment parenting,
more babies will thrive -- and survive.