What We Get Wrong About Babies, Bonding & Postpartum with Dr. Emily Little | Golden Hour, Episode 60
Golden Hour
What if some of the things parents believe they should be able to do “naturally” were never meant to happen without other people?
Dr. Emily Little is a developmental scientist, perinatal health expert, founder of Nurturally, and the “Baby Myth Buster.” Her work examines infant development, caregiver-infant bonding, physical touch, lactation, postpartum mental health, and the cultural practices that shape how we care for babies and their parents.
In this episode of Golden Hour, Dr. O and Emily examine the gap between what biology actually asks of parents and what modern American parenthood expects from them.
Emily explains the evolutionary story behind why breastfeeding can be functionally difficult—and why social support and shared knowledge were part of how humans adapted. They unpack the idea of instant bonding and the science suggesting that sometimes the behaviors of attachment can come before the feeling itself. They explore why skin-to-skin contact matters beyond the first “golden hour,” why babies aren't biologically designed around adult sleep and work schedules, and how a culture built around productivity has normalized separating parents and babies remarkably early.
The conversation also moves beyond individual parenting choices to the systems surrounding them: workplace pumping policies, postpartum recovery, the loss of the village, racial inequities in maternal health, and what other cultures may understand about integrating babies into everyday life that the United States has forgotten.
Because when biology and culture are in conflict, perhaps the question isn't why parents and babies aren't adapting better.
Perhaps it's why we keep asking them to.
#Postpartum #PostpartumHealth #NewbornCare #Breastfeeding #BabyBonding #MaternalHealth #FourthTrimester #Parenthood #GoldenHourPodcast
Thank you for listening ❤
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