Early Development Special Series: Labor and Birth

This is the second episode in our special series on early brain development. Today we are looking at labor and birth and how this process affects our brain long-term. Many people understand the importance of pregnancy on brain development but often skip over labor and birth and jump right into infancy. Even though labor and birth are relatively short period of time in our neurological development they play a huge role in helping us transition into newborn life and help us set the foundation for future brain development. This episode goes into depth on the process of labor and birth and what is happening from the baby’s perspective. It covers normal and abnormal birth experiences and risk factors that can arise during this important time. Labor and birth play an important role in how your child’s brain will function in the future. If we as a society want to curb this explosion of developmental problems we are seeing we have to back up and figure out where they start.You can find my website here. If you want to learn more about the midwifery model of care, breech birth, home birth, the microbiome and other things I mention in this episode, I highly recommend these resources:The Business of Being Born Why Not HomeThe Birthing Instincts Podcast VBAC Facts MicrobirthIna May's Guide to Childbirth (book)You can find a list of research and resources from the Institute of Neuro-Physiological Psychology Research here.