Tag Archives: childbirth

What’s New in Attached at the Heart?

Leave a reply

The second edition of Attached at the Heart is now available! Our intention in writing our book in the first place was to supply you with important information to help you make informed decisions. New information just keeps on coming! We can no longer accept advice at face-value, especially when it comes to our children. We have to question everything and do the necessary research on our own. We have tried to help you do just that in our updated edition of Attached at the Heart with incredible new research and information, some of which has been hidden from the public. Some of the information may be shocking and unsettling but liberating as well. For some it may stir up feelings of fear and guilt but our intention is to empower you, knowing that we can’t be held responsible for what we didn’t know.

  • More information about childbirth interventions you need to know
  • New information on the hidden dangers of ultrasound
  • Epigenetics- we have “power over” our genes and the genes of our grandchildren
  • How breastfeeding mitigates maternal depression
  • New study finds “infant bedsharing in the absence of other risk factors is not inherently dangerous”
  • The importance of play for strengthening connections and healthy growth
  • How early trauma can affect physical health later in life (The ACE Study)
  • How to protect your children from advertising and a consumer-driven society

New research comes out weekly and Attachment Parenting International has a great Enewsletter called API Links that compiles the latest information in a variety of areas of study. Go to attachmentparenting.org and sign up!

We’d love to hear from you and your comments about the book.

Lysa and Barbara

The Real World of Attachment Parenting

Leave a reply

We haven’t post much in the last few months because we have been diligently working on the new edition of Attached at the Heart, due to be released on Aug. 6, 2013. We couldn’t be more excited because it gave us the opportunity to update and add a lot of new information!

Since our book was first published in 2009, a lot has happened! Attachment parenting was introduced to the world by TIME Magazine just in time for Mother’s Day, 2012. A year later, people just can’t stop talking about it! Celebrities are coming out of the shadows to proudly announce they are practicing attachment parenting, which is great but can create more confusion. While it’s been disconcerting to hear the same misinformation repeated over and over at least now it’s part of the consciousness of the world. According to most media reports AP requires three things: breastfeeding, babywearing and bedsharing. Surely many countries are asking “What is so strange about breastfeeding, wearing your baby and sleeping with your baby?”

Thirty years ago it was unheard of to talk about a child nursing six months let alone one year. Now we are talking about four year olds and older (not that you have to do that to be AP). So with all the criticism and misunderstanding, progress is still being made and we are so happy that API has helped in doing that. Attached at the Heart is also doing its part in clarifying, raising awareness and informing parents and professionals about best practices that are supported by a wealth of scientific studies.

The truth is that attachment parenting isn’t about what you do as much as it is about an overarching understanding of what children need from us to develop into whole and happy adults and why it is so important for our future. At the heart of attachment parenting is a level of empathy and respect for our children as precious human beings; values that are uncommon in our culture among adults not to mention children. In the real world of attachment parenting, we are kind and compassionate, we respect and support each other knowing that we can make a difference in our families and in the world one generation at a time.

Our revised and updated edition of Attached at Heart is coming soon! (HCI Books, Aug. 6, 2013) There’s new information that every parent and professional needs to know. You can preorder now at Amazon and Barnes & Noble online.

Attached at the Heart Wins Gold

Leave a reply

We’re excited to report that last week it was announced at Book Expo America in New York City (May 27, 2010) that Attached at the Heart won the gold award from ForeWord magazine! Our book won in the category of Family & Relationships, one of sixty other categories. The judges consisted of librarians and booksellers, to whom we are very grateful.
Starting in February, we spent three months travelling and promoting AATH and meeting many wonderful people. In mid-April we met with a couple of Congressmen and many aides on Capital Hill to give them our book and discuss the book’s important message as it relates to many of the difficulties families face everyday.

We’re also very grateful to the friends and families who have supported or hosted us in our travels from WA DC, Texas and California. Our publisher, iUniverse has been incredibly supportive and our publicity agency, Smith Publicity, did a phenomenal job of publicizing our book from the US to Australia. It has given us the momentum we’ve needed and we will feel the ripple effects for months to come, from book reviews, articles and media requests.
Become a fan of AATH on Facebook and remember it’s a great gift for pregnant mommies and new parents. Even grandparents would benefit from reading AATH to update them on the latest information on birth and parenting so they can support their children as they raise their grandchildren.
We don’t know what’s going to happen next we we’re ready for the ride!
Lysa

Reclaiming our birth rights

Leave a reply

Having just attended the Lamaze conference in Orlando, Florida, it is alarmingly clear that women have to become proactive in reclaiming our rights to give birth the way we want.  We spoke with several Lamaze instructors who shared their own personal experiences in hospitals and the obstacles they are up against in providing all the evidence-based information in their childbirth classes. Many if not most hospitals are NOT practicing evidenced-based care when it comes to delivery and postnatal care of mother and child.

The most important thing we learned that can be very helpful in creating change is this; hospitals are sensitive to a certain rating based on the number of complaints (or not) received by patients.  The problem is that women aren’t complaining because they really don’t know what their choices should be in regard to having their best birth. So all of us have to play our part in educating women, our friends and family members, about healthy birth practices and also encouraging women to write letters of complaint to their hospitals if they aren’t satisfied and request changes be made to improve outcomes that are in line with the healthy birth practices outlined in our book Attached at the Heart and at www.lamaze.org.

Let’s do it!

Lysa