Rating: 
Summary: Babies would tell you to buy this book!
Review: Baby Matters is the latest word on responsive baby care, warmly written and backed up by a wealth of research references and academic articles.
This is the book I wish I'd had when my son was born. I would have had a an abundance of helpful information, I would have been reassured that it was OK - in fact, essential - to trust what my heart told me, and I would have had the perfect book to show skeptical friends and relatives.
Baby Matters would make an especially welcome and useful baby shower gift. It is an excellent choice for any new parent. If babies could talk, I'm sure they would agree!
Jan Hunt, author of The Natural Child
Rating:
Summary: Babies would tell you to buy this book!
Review: Baby Matters is the latest word on responsive baby care, warmly written and backed up by a wealth of research references and academic articles. This is the book I wish I'd had when my son was born. I would have had a an abundance of helpful information, I would have been reassured that it was OK - in fact, essential - to trust what my heart told me, and I would have had the perfect book to show skeptical friends and relatives. Baby Matters would make an especially welcome and useful baby shower gift. It is an excellent choice for any new parent. If babies could talk, I'm sure they would agree! Jan Hunt, M.Sc., author of The Natural Child: Parenting from the Heart (New Society, 2001)
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Summary: A highly recommended reader for the new mother
Review: Baby Matters: What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Caring For Your Baby by natural childbirth educator Linda Folden Palmer provides a straightforward examination of many key issues new parents might be unfamiliar with, ranging from why cow's milk is not the best food for an infant, to preventing and treating food allergies, to the inside scoop on bonding. Dr. Palmer, is an instructor in pediatric nutrition (among other health fields), and writes in "reader friendly", down-to-earth terms especially accessible to non-specialist readers in general, and anxious mothers in particular. Baby Matters is an excellent and highly recommended reader for the new mother!
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Summary: An instant classic. A must-read for all parents
Review: Dr. Palmer's book is the best book on the hard science behind attachment parenting that I've ever read. I plan to make it a baby gift for every pregnant friend. I wish I had read this book before I became a mother. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It's the most exciting new book on parenting that I've read in a number of years. Katie Allison Granju ~ author of "ATTACHMENT PARENTING: INSTINCTIVE CARE FOR YOUR BABY AND YOUNG CHILD" (Pocket Books/1999)
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Summary: A Must-Read for parents
Review: I feel blessed to have found this book before my little girls got any older. It's a shame I didn't have it before they were born! The information on cow's milk and formula was especially eye-opening. The evidence to support attachment parenting and breastfeeding has made me that much more grateful that I have followed my instincts, and turned a deaf ear to the poor advice I have received time and again from various individuals. I already sent a copy to my sister, who is a new mother. I only wish I could get my pediatrician to read it too...
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Summary: Very helpful book for new mothers
Review: I started reading Baby Matters when my daughter was three weeks old. I feel very thankful to Linda Palmer for writing such a comprehensive book that gives a scientific look at many important issues about parenting. Reading Baby Matters has reaffirmed to me on a personal and scientific level how attachment parenting can provide my child with the best start for a healthy, loving and fulfilling life. Some of the most important points of attachment parenting that I got from the book are: extended breastfeeding on demand, high touch/sling carrying, co-sleeping, responding to baby's cries, and providing human attachment instead of object attachment. Now I feel more confident to continue parenting in the way that I know is right for my family.
Baby Matters also has important information about many other aspects of breastfeeding including breast and dental health and introducing solid foods. There is lots of valuable information about cow's milk, digestion, allergies and other common childhood illnesses and behaviors.
One of the most important chapters in this book was the chapter on immunity, health, antibiotic therapy and vaccines. Linda Palmer presented a very balanced view on this incredibly important issue that all new parents must deal with. After reading this chapter I felt more prepared to make the best decisions for my family regarding these issues.
I recommend this book to people before conception, during pregnancy, or at any stage during early parenting. I feel much more confident in my choices and knowledge after reading Baby Matters. We can all benefit from the thoughtful and intensive work that Linda Palmer put into this book.
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Summary: Every parent should read this book
Review: I've read lots of parenting books and this is my favorite, I hope to give a copy of this book at every baby shower I go to in the future. It's not so much a "how to" as a "why to" book. The author cites scientific evidence linking early parenting and nurturing to later personality development in individuals, society, and cultures. She explains how allowing early bonding can lead to security and later success in forming relationships, and even encourage a more successful marriage! But forcing independence through various methods designed more for parental convenience than baby's comfort can lead to later problems--teen rebellion, delinquence, mental problems and depression in adulthood. Everyone should read this book before deciding which parenting style, and which baby-care experts, to follow.
Rating:
Summary: A "must read" for any parent-to-be
Review: Since reading Dr. Folden's excellent book, I scratch my head every time I read articles about the growing elective-Caesarean-birth trend that, without exception, fail to mention the role of oxytocin. That, of course, is the "bonding" hormone that is released largely in response to the infant's passage through the birth canal. It's amazing to me that these articles usually quote as experts only OB surgeons. They might know body parts but I wonder how much they know about neurotransmitters, hormones, and brain development -- and how the birth process can affect these areas. In this era of myopic specialization in medicine, I suspect they know very little.
To be clear, Dr. Folden makes no judgment on the wisdom of elective Caesarean births -- and neither do I - but her book does explain clearly and engagingly how this hormone affects mother and baby's health and bonding.
In a time when autistic-spectrum disorders (associated with low oxytocin) appear to be reaching epidemic levels, I can't help but wonder why no studies seem to be examing any possible link between autism and Caesareans. Again, this is not Dr. Folden's point. The question is my own. She merely presents solid science that might inspire readers to question more of the "accepted wisdom" on this and other issues. I greatly appreciate her rare ability to make complex systems understandable to the layperson.
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Summary: This is truly a valuable resource.
Review: So your know-it-all cousin chides that your baby's being spoiled by all that attention. Last time you talked, she disapproved of prolonged breastfeeding. What'll it be next? Don't you wish you had some scientific evidence to back up your choices? Well, now you do. Dr. Linda Folden Palmer's book, Baby Matters, exhaustively lists the scientific evidence behind attachment parenting, breastfeeding, and the reality of food allergies. With chapters such as, "The Attachment Advantage," "Bonding: the Inside Story," " Crying & Caring," and "The Dangers of Cow's Milk," Dr. Palmer shows how the establishment of science-conquering-nature has caused unnecessary suffering and heartache to parents and babies alike. Leaving babies to "cry it out," forcing them to sleep alone, giving them formula instead of breastfeeding, ignoring possible food allergies, and indiscriminate vaccination have all resulted in alarming SIDS rates, aggressiveness, emotional detachment and physical illness. Not to be accused of selectively culling sources, Palmer evenhandedly discusses vaccines, for example, deflating the overblown cons and discussing the details of what the research really shows. This is truly a valuable resource for attachment parents, and perhaps if you gave it to your cousin at her baby shower, she might just learn a thing or two. What you (and your great grandma) knew in your heart was right all along�it simply took some time for our society to catch up. �Reviewed by Regina Cassidy
Rating:
Summary: This is truly a valuable resource.
Review: So your know-it-all cousin chides that your baby's being spoiled by all that attention. Last time you talked, she disapproved of prolonged breastfeeding. What'll it be next? Don't you wish you had some scientific evidence to back up your choices? Well, now you do. Dr. Linda Folden Palmer's book, Baby Matters, exhaustively lists the scientific evidence behind attachment parenting, breastfeeding, and the reality of food allergies. With chapters such as, "The Attachment Advantage," "Bonding: the Inside Story," " Crying & Caring," and "The Dangers of Cow's Milk," Dr. Palmer shows how the establishment of science-conquering-nature has caused unnecessary suffering and heartache to parents and babies alike. Leaving babies to "cry it out," forcing them to sleep alone, giving them formula instead of breastfeeding, ignoring possible food allergies, and indiscriminate vaccination have all resulted in alarming SIDS rates, aggressiveness, emotional detachment and physical illness. Not to be accused of selectively culling sources, Palmer evenhandedly discusses vaccines, for example, deflating the overblown cons and discussing the details of what the research really shows. This is truly a valuable resource for attachment parents, and perhaps if you gave it to your cousin at her baby shower, she might just learn a thing or two. What you (and your great grandma) knew in your heart was right all along'it simply took some time for our society to catch up. 'Reviewed by Regina Cassidy
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