You Can’t Spoil a Baby: The Science of Early Attachment

Send us Fan MailOn this month’s “The UMB Pulse” podcast, University of Maryland School of Social Work researcher Lisa Berlin, PhD, MS, discusses how early infant-caregiver relationships shape children’s emotional, behavioral, and physical health development.Berlin, the Alison L. Richman Professor of Children and Families and an MPower Professor, is an expert in attachment security who explains why responsive caregiving helps infants build trust, regulate stress, and develop healthier long-term expectations about relationships and support.Berlin also discusses Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up (ABC), a 10-session parent coaching program designed to strengthen supportive caregiving behaviors. Her current collaborative study with 245 low-income Latina mothers and infants in East Baltimore examines how parenting behaviors, sleep, feeding, stress regulation, and immune system functioning may influence lifelong health outcomes.Researchers are also exploring how programs like ABC could eventually expand through systems such as Head Start and Maryland Judy Centers to support more families across the state.Learn more about Berlin's research at https://www.umaryland.edu/research/breakthroughs/strong-start/Listen to “The UMB Pulse” on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, or wherever you like to listen. “The UMB Pulse” is now also on YouTube. Visit our website at umaryland.edu/pulse or email us at [email protected]:00 You Can’t Spoil a Baby: The Science of Early Attachment00:30 Meet Dr Lisa Berlin02:18 What Secure Attachment Means05:20 ABC Program Explained08:05 Study Community And Measures13:28 Pick Up The Crying Baby14:45 Brain Expectations And Plasticity17:44 Stress Sleep And Immune Health20:49 Key Takeaways For Caregivers22:22 Research Timeline And Team24:21 Scaling ABC And Prevention26:56 Hopeful Closing And ResourcesListen to The UMB Pulse on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you like to listen. The UMB Pulse is also now on YouTube.Visit our website at umaryland.edu/pulse or email us at [email protected].