Judy, a mother of two young kids, practices a demanding style of child-rearing. It’s called attachment parenting, and it says you should keep your baby close at all times, breastfeed on demand, share your bed, and avoid strollers. Like many attachment parents, Judy believes the sacrifices she makes will ensure her kids will become well-adjusted, successful, happy adults. But, what does the science say? To find out, Science Vs speaks to Prof. Alan Sroufe, Prof. Jane Fisher and Reut Avinun. If you liked this episode - our friends at The Longest Shortest Time have just published a story about *eating* placentas. 

Credits: This episode has been produced by Heather Rogers, who interviewed our attachment parent Judy, also Caitlin Kenney and Kaitlyn Sawrey. Edited by Annie Rose Strasser and Alex Blumberg. Production Assistance by Austin Mitchell and Stevie Lane. Sound design and music production by Matthew Boll, music written by Bobby Lord. 

Selected References:

• Video of the Strange Situation Procedure
• The World Health Organization’s recommendations on breastfeeding
• The act of breastfeeding does not show a clear effect on infant-mother attachment
  • Tharner et al, "Breastfeeding and Its Relation to Maternal Sensitivity and Infant Attachment", J Dev Behav Pediatr, 2012
• Early parenting services in Australia
• Sleep training does not affect attachment
  • Gradisar et al, "Behavioral Interventions for Infant Sleep Problems: A Randomized Controlled Trial", Pediatrics, 2016
• Bed-sharing increases risk for sudden infant death
  • Carpenter et al, "Bed sharing when parents do not smoke: is there a risk of SIDS? An individual level analysis of five major case–control studies", BMJ Open, 2013
• Summary report on caring for unsettled infants, including discussion of baby-wearing and attachment