Mam Talks 🗣️ @MamTalksBlog

Your baby knows your voice, even before they enter the world. As the senses activate between 24-26 weeks of gestation, the tone of our own mothers’ voice is one of the very first things we experience as humans (second only to her heartbeat, most likely). And a whole host of research (which you’ll be able to learn about in my next book, Wonderment) documents their recognition of - and preference for - mom’s voice while still in utero. But my favorite study on this topic measured this preference in the days immediately following birth. Using a specially rigged electronic pacifier, researchers established a baseline rate of sucking for each participating infant… then they inserted a new variable. When the newborns began sucking faster than their baseline, a recording of their own mother’s voice (reading a story) was activated. If they began to suck more slowly, a stranger’s voice would read the same passages. 80% of the children in the study successfully modified their behavior to hear their own mother’s voice. The next day these kids were brought back to try again, only this time the situation was reversed. This time to hear their mother they had to suck more slowly. And after some experimentation, 100% successfully modified their behaviors to privilege the sweetest sound they knew: their own mom’s voice. I loved this video from the Leslie Rodriguez on IG that shows baby’s response at 3 weeks. Rest assured she knew and loved your voice even before you met!

Give yourself a hug! Toddlers are incredibly compassionate humans and will often comfort themselves with a self-hug or by cuddling one of their many stuffed animals. Adults can tap into this same simple, sensory approach to self-soothe: a hands-on, nurturing touch that says “I see you, I’m here for you”—without words. A study published in Behavior Research and Therapy found that just 20 seconds of self-compassionate touch each day—like placing a hand over your heart and another on your belly—can significantly reduce stress, anxiety, and depression in adults, and foster greater self-compassion, especially when practiced consistently over time. Toddlers remind us that comfort and emotional grounding can be as simple as a hug. Try bringing that same gentle, compassionate touch into your own life. A twenty-second hand-over-heart ritual can become a powerful reset—one that honors your emotional needs, just like toddlers naturally do. Excellent summary of the study: dallasexaminer.com/meditation-sel… Video credit: juaraujoellis on TT

The British pediatrician D. W. Winnicott once wrote, “There’s no such thing as a baby. There is a baby and someone.” I’ve always loved the quote, because it so simply encapsulates our situation as the newest members of the human species: We enter the world with fine tuned powers of observation, ready to learn and engage. But without at least one significant adult (and hopefully many more) ready to dedicate to our need for connection, it is impossible for our development to optimize. Or as Urie Bronfenbrenner explained: “Every child needs at least one adult who is irrationally crazy about him or her.” You won’t run across any better example than this gorgeous video shared to IG by amyjoannswart. It’s hard to tell who’s more crazy about the other. And that makes for a lucky little one, indeed.

My brave client was a young mother who suffered a fourth-degree tear which was mis-diagnosed - she was ignored dismissed and patronised whilst in the most terrible pain, bleeding heavily causing her serious physical and psychological harm. We settled against UH Sussex NHS FT.

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57 years ago

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Neonatal units are so single-minded in their mission to get breastmilk to NICU babies that they will even tell the cruel lie to mothers at their most vulnerable that breastfeeding will 'enhance bonding' with their hospitalised baby. Unconscionable in my view.

London Neonatal ODN @londonneonatalodn.bsky.social @LdnNeonatal

10 months ago

In the neonatal unit, feeding is a journey of courage. This #WorldBreastfeedingWeek, we celebrate every method, nursing, expressing milk, donor milk, tube feeding as a powerful act of love and connection. Every drop provides vital nutrition to help tiny babies thrive. 💛💧

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@DrProudman All of this is so accurate and well said.

Spot-on. unherd.com/2025/07/the-co…

People in their 80s are applying for parental orders for surrogate born babies. Hundreds are brought to the UK from abroad every year. To put a stop to this human rights abuse, please email your MP. It takes under 2 minutes: surrogacyconcern.uk/take-action-se…

'Clara...told them she could feel every touch, every cut, she could feel her organs literally being lifted out of her body. But the surgeon claimed she was just “anxious” and refused to give her general anaesthetic.' image.ie/self/pain-shou…

"Women were assessed but not given a “RAG” rating, and it was unclear which cases were clinical priorities. When there was a delay in a doctor reviewing a patient, staff said they had been told not to report this as a safety issue."

Health Service Journal @HSJnews

10 months ago

Staff left “vulnerable” after concerns “ignored” by trust leadership ift.tt/7fDw2jT

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Terrible indictment of our times. A very ill mum died despite phoning an ambulance & her daughter with Downs died probably through starvation. They were not found for months. Not a tragic situation it's about the breakdown of our services & communities nottinghampost.com/news/nottingha…

If this doesn’t prompt government to act, what will? theguardian.com/society/2025/j…

And when the abusers are midwives? No-one will recognise it as misogyny but internalised misogyny is rife in #midwifery. Denying access to pain relief. Gaslighting women’s lived experience of pain. Denying access to medical interventions. Ideological abuse. #MaternityScandal

Natalie Page @NataliePage

11 months ago

Society tells survivors to speak out. But when their abuser turns out to be a friend, a relative, a coworker, the survivor is suddenly labelled a liar. We must move away from this culture of denial and recognise that abusers are all around us.

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Age can impact how mothers are treated. This Birth Trauma Awareness week we are supporting @BirthTrauma to support the important message that mothers, no matter their age, have to be listened to. Read more here: tinyurl.com/4dwek7v8 #BTAW2025 @BoltBurdonKemp

Your baby understands language well before they can use it. 🧠 Watch this little one’s reaction when she hears the word “eat.” Her excitement is a good reminder that language development happens on two different planes simultaneously. Receptive language refers to what your baby hears and comprehends, while expressive language refers to the language they can actually produce (speak aloud). Particularly at this age, there can be a wide gulf between what is understood and what can be expressed - which is an important reminder for parents. Never assume your little one is too young to begin absorbing the adult language around them - either spoken aloud in the home or delivered via TV, music, or other media. They understand more than you think. This adorable little language learner was shared to IG by growingupkoreanamerican.

The period from prenatal to three is the most uniquely consequential window in all of human development. It is during this period that the fundamental architecture of the brain is “wired” in ways that will serve to support - or hinder - your child’s longterm success in school and life. Optimal development depends on stable, nurturing and attentive relationships. In other words, it depends on YOU. Talk, sing, and read to your baby. Look them in the eyes. Play. Then do it some more. The dividends will be lifelong. This fantastic mother-baby interaction via guadasavarino on IG.

Appalling secrets of couple who 'bought' 21 surrogate children including 17 toddlers for nanny-filled mansion trib.al/nJ9c2Pj

The "Listen to Mums: Ending the Postcode Lottery on Perinatal Care" report makes it clear: Babies born in UK’s most deprived areas are twice as likely to be stillborn as those born in the least deprived areas. This is systemic inequality. @BirthTrauma

Do you know an HCP looking for Hyperemesis Gravidarum diagnosis tools and treatment information? Share our NEW GP toolkit providing HG support, in line with RCOG Guidelines. ow.ly/GciI50WofMB #HGProgress #PregnancySickness

1/2 It’s Birth Trauma Awareness Week (14th-19 July) and we are supporting @BirthTrauma This is a vital moment to recognise the voices of women who’ve experienced trauma during birth. This year, the focus is on marginalised groups who face additional barriers in maternity care