Thread by @LLLGB

.@UptySciChick is speaking now to answer the question "Is it ever too late for baby’s brain development?" short answer: No!

Early toxic stress can cause lifelong problems with physical & mental health. People can overcome this. There is hope #bfconf

@UptySciChick .@UptySciChick: babies' brain development can be affected in utero by mother's mental health (cortisol & inflammatio, increased risk of preterm birth), exposure to substances #bfconf

@UptySciChick .@UptySciChick: babies have an innate drive to develop, postpartum they don't need products, they need the basics: safe & adequate feeding, shelter, responsive care #bfconf

@UptySciChick .@UptySciChick: lower levels of stress are manageable, can lead to resilience. Persistently elevated stress hormones can disrupt developing brain architecture, creates a weak foundation for later learning. Caring & responsible adults help children cope with stressors #bfconf

@UptySciChick .@UptySciChick Attachment is essental to survival. Ainsworth & Bowlby 1991: Proximity & maternal responsiveness promote secure attachment #bfconf

.@UptySciChick: Puig et al 2013 Insecure attachments at 12-18 months associated with inflammationn-based illness at age 32 ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P… #bfconf

@UptySciChick .@UptySciChick: Shonkoff et al 2009 "Adult disease prevention begins with reducing early toxic stress" pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19491187/ #bfconf

@UptySciChick .@UptySciChick: Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs): various types of abuse & neglect, parental impairment (substance abuse, mental illness, domestic abuse, criminal activity), parental loss (incl divorce), low socioeconomic status (lack access to medical care, food insecurity)

@UptySciChick .@UptySciChick Why do different people come out of similar experiences with different levels of risk? Looked at physiology, why some engage in harmful behaviour (substance abuse), cognitive impact (shame, mistrust), social (homelessness, divorce, disconnection), emotional aspects

@UptySciChick .@UptySciChick: 3 key parts of the brain amygdala (feer centre), hippocampus (learning & memory), prefrontal cortex (executive functioning). Early toxic stress -> overactive amygdala, changes structure & connections between amygdala and hippocampus & prefrontal cortex

@UptySciChick .@UptySciChick Intergenerational effects: study on Holocaust survivors' offspring Dashorst et al 2019 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31497262/ Style of mothering significantly affected PTSD in offspring (larger effect than fathers). Parental PTSD increased occurrence of child maltreatment #bfconf

@UptySciChick .@UptySciChick What helps break the cycle? Chen & Lacey 2018 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29458198/ protect children from ACEs, support children through education into skilled, secure work #bfconf

@UptySciChick .@UptySciChick Miller at al. 2014 pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pn… Intervention families received 7 week parenting skills course, at age 19 children of intervention mothers had lower levels of inflammation on all 6 measures #bfconf

@UptySciChick .@UptySciChick Strathearn et al. 2009 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19171613/ Mothers who breastfed for at least 4 months were 3.8 times less likely to neglect their children & 2.6 times less likely to physically abuse them #bfconf

@UptySciChick .@UptySciChick Oddy et al. 2009 ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P… Breastfeeding> 12 months equates to better child mental health #bfconf

.@UptySciChick quoting Frederick Douglass "It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men." Everything we do to help children can help, can make a difference long term. People can overcome tremendous obstacles #bfconf