• Last updated 9/18/12 by Melanie Mayo

A new study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison suggests that heavy use of pacifiers by boys may stunt their emotional development throughout life. Experiments performed by researchers at the University showed that six- and seven-year-old boys who spent large amounts of time with pacifiers in their mouths as young children were less able to mimic emotions presented to them on video. The issue does not seem to end in childhood either, college-age men whose parents reported that they used pacifiers as children scored lower on tests of empathy than their peers. Pacifiers... read more

• Last updated 3/14/12 by Mothering Editorial

By Kittie FrantzIssue 132, September/October 2005 When I became a grandmother, I considered myself lucky. I was a practicing pediatric nurse-practitioner and teaching in a university; as new studies came along that suggested making changes in the way people parented, I could understand and accept them from a medical point of view without feeling invalidated as a mother. The trend that most disturbs me is the notion that it is unnecessary, almost wrong, to soothe your baby by breastfeeding. I am puzzled when I hear the advice to never breastfeed your baby to sleep.... read more

• Last updated 11/18/11 by Mothering Editorial

Breathing In: Breastfeeding as a Spiritual PracticeBy Leslie DavisIssue 120, September/October 2003 The Sangha dwells in mindfulness day and night, providing the foundation for us to realize the fruit of meditation. -Thich Nhat Hanh, Vietnamese Buddhist monk, poet, and peacemaker Thich Nhat Hanh writes, in his book The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching, "Sangha is the fourfold community of monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen, as well as the other elements that support our practice-our cushion, our walking meditation path, the trees, the sky, and the flowers." In... read more

• Last updated 10/24/12 by emilyfrischmann

Thank you to Angela Rau of Infant Massage USA for this guest post.  Parenting is part natural and part learned. All mammals have the natural presence of the bonding hormone (oxytocin) responsible for motivating caregiving of the young for survival. Research confirms that father’s increase their bonding hormone levels through physical contact with their baby. A mother has a bonding jumpstart on a father. After all she has had physical contact with their baby 24/7 during pregnancy. Valuable attachment moments continue through breastfeeding. Fathers, require... read more

• Last updated 10/18/12 by AdinaL

The author and daughter navigating San Francisco's Chinatown streets with a stroller. I’ve visited the Bay Area before, but never with a child. Along with a yoga mat (I planned on attending yoga on the labyrinth in Grace Cathedral), I also packed onesies, sippy cups, and our stroller. As my daughter is nearing her first birthday, I’m finding it increasingly difficult to “wear” her for longer periods of time before needing to give my back a break. This saddens me, as I enjoyed the many days spent with her strapped to my chest while walking all around... read more

• Last updated 3/30/13 by mamazee

  Newborns are weird, postpartum women are too My friend Michele finally came to pick up her dishes yesterday. She brought us a meal when Leone was just a few weeks old and her pots have been on our porch ever since. Michele’s daughter is a freshman at Harvard. “Enjoy this time,” Michele said. “It goes by so fast … She’s not a newborn anymore, you know.” If Leone, who is almost two months old, is no longer a newborn, does that mean I’m no longer a postpartum woman? Sometimes I find myself hobbling around, like I did the day... read more

• Last updated 11/2/12 by Melanie Mayo

Nearly 10,000 babies on 4 continents lent their bottoms for a world record-breaking event to raise awareness about reusable cloth diapers on April 21st.  Hundreds of hosts in 15 countries held events centered around cloth diapers on that Saturday. At exactly 9:30am Pacific Daylight Time, organizers gave the signal for parents to change their babies diapers.  Each site had at least two independent witnesses overseeing that Guinness World Record(TM) rules for qualifying and counting participants were followed.  Their signed statements and photographic evidence... read more

• Last updated 4/19/12 by Mothering Editorial

The AIDS War on BreastfeedingDavid CroweApril, 2012 Allopathic medicine was at war with natural birth and childrearing for much of the last century, but the battles were most intense over breastfeeding. Natural infant feeding started a comeback in the 1970s with increasing support from doctors (Wolf, 2003) but then along came AIDS. All of a sudden, millions of women around the world had suspect breasts again, supposedly teeming with deadly viruses, and the life-giving act of nursing their own baby was viewed as deadly. Now we know that there was indeed a slaughter, but... read more

• Last updated 10/18/12 by AdinaL

Winner announced — see who it is here. Stay connected to giveaways by subscribing to our RSS feed or visiting our giveaways page. Mothering is teaming up with The Green Nursery to bring you an exciting chance to win a One Size Cloth Diaper Starter Bundle and a Sophie the Giraffe!! Find out how to enter below! The bundle includes: 1 GroVia Shell | 2 GroVia Snap-In Soaker Pads | 2 bumGenius 4.0 with 2 included inserts | FuzziBunz One Size with 2 Inserts  | Sophie the Giraffe The Green Nursery is a natural baby boutique that specializes in... read more

• Last updated 11/30/10 by mamajake

by Jake Aryeh Marcus Find Sustainable Mothering on Facebook and Jake on Twitter. When attorney Stacey Armato arrived at the TSA inspection at her usual gate at Phoenix International Airport for her weekly return flight home to Los Angeles on February 1st, she felt a bit of trepidation. The week before she had been held for 40 minutes while TSA staff researched whether she had a right to refuse to allow her pumped breast milk to be x-rayed. She had requested “alternate” screening – something to which she has been entitled since the summer of 2007 when the TSA exempted... read more