In this podcast, you’ll hear all you ever wanted to know about sleeping baby safely at night! Professor Helen Ball, the world’s leading infant sleep researcher, established the Parent-Infant Sleep Lab at Durham University in 2000. Helen begins this conversation with Dr Pamela Douglas by outlining the trajectory of her professional life, then by addressing the historical forces which have shaped safe infant sleep guidelines internationally. Helen goes on to discuss the positive things that...

In this conversation, Dr Sarah Buckley, Ms Karen McClay and Dr Pamela Douglas discuss what you might do to prepare for birth, and what you might expect. In the extraordinary passageway of birth, our mind, body, and spirit embark upon a liminal journey, a heroic journey of great significance in most women’s lives. Sarah and Karen draw on their formidable knowledge of the Australian health system and women’s birth experiences to help you navigate your own way through, so that you feel confident...

Most women use a breast pump at some stage during their breastfeeding experience, or many find themselves pumping all the way through. Pumping is demanding work. In this discussion, Pam and Emma explore the role of pumping breast milk, including for increasing supply and returning to work. We explore strategies which support successful pumping, and also discuss problems which might arise and how to deal with them. We discuss when and how you might return to only feeding your baby directly...

Dr Nikki Mills is a New Zealand based paediatric ENT surgeon, who has a special clinical and research interest in breastfeeding and is also an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. Nikki worked for many years at the Starship Children’s Hospital in Auckland, moving in 2020 to Nelson Hospital in Nelson, New Zealand. In this third and final episode of an in-depth conversation, Pam and Nikki continue their deep dive into our biomechanical understandings of infant suck during...

Dr Nikki Mills is a New Zealand based paediatric ENT surgeon, who has a special clinical and research interest in breastfeeding and is also an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. Nikki worked for many years at the Starship Children’s Hospital in Auckland, moving in 2020 to Nelson Hospital in Nelson, New Zealand. In this second episode of an in-depth 3-part conversation, Pam and Nikki continue their deep dive into Nikki’s groundbreaking research. This episode focusses on her...

Dr Nikki Mills is a New Zealand based pediatric ENT surgeon, who has a special clinical and research interest in breastfeeding and is also an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. Nikki worked for many years at the Starship Children’s Hospital in Auckland, moving in 2020 to Nelson Hospital in Nelson, New Zealand. In this first episode of an in-depth 3-part conversation, Pam and Nikki take a deep dive into Nikki’s groundbreaking anatomical dissection studies of the floor of...

The discontented little baby book: all you need to know about feeds, sleep, and crying (https://www.amazon.com.au/Discontented-Little-Baby-Book-ebook/dp/B00M6G1ABO). 

Despite wanting to breastfeed exclusively, many women find they have been advised to introduce formula by the end of the first week of their baby’s life. How much of this formula use is actually necessary? As Melbourne The discontented little baby book: all you need to know about feeds, sleep, and crying (https://www.amazon.com.au/Discontented-Little-Baby-Book-ebook/dp/B00M6G1ABO).

Bryan Crawford, father of a 1 and 3 year old (also of Longbow Productions), talks with Dr Pamela Douglas about the complexities and uncertainties of being supportive in those early months after the birth of a baby; about how to work as part of the parenting team; and how to step up when the time is right. Pam is a GP-researcher and founder of the evidence-based Neuroprotective Developmental Care (or 'Possums') programs www.possumsonline.com. She is also author of The discontented little baby...

Homo sapiens environment of evolutionary adaptedness bathed the infant in rich environmental stimulation, both social and non-social. Because of this, 21st century babies still thrive best in the context of diverse and complex sensory-motor experience, and when loving adults and older children respond to the baby and grow increasingly long and complex social reciprocity chains. The latest neuroscience proposes the primacy of motor development for optimal developmental outcomes. Motor...

Honorary Associate Professor Peter Hill has spent a life-time working to improve health systems both in Australia and in developing countries. Now, as we brace for COVID-19 in Australia and pull together to flatten the curve, Peter reflects with Dr Pamela Douglas about the implications of the pandemic for our health system both short and long-term, and in particular how this applies to service delivery for families with babies. Pam is a GP-researcher and founder of the evidence-based...

The current disruptions to, and adaptations of, the health system in response to COVID-19 are an opportunity for a seriously strengthened primary care response to the common problems parents face after the birth of their baby - if we are serious about cost-effective protection of infant developmental outcomes and maternal mental health. This conversation between two Australian GPs addresses telehealth and the urgent need for government to invest in primary care including in post-birth care....

Mothers often suffer significant fatigue in the midst of their highly demanding and ever changing occupations and roles, especially when they are primary caregiver which is the norm in most societies. For evolutionary reasons, babies quickly become discontent in interior environments for want of more complex and dynamic environmental stimulation. Considering families' everyday activities and routines, how does a primary carer (or both parents together) manage the baby’s hunger for rich and...

In this time of COVID-19 threat, we want breastfeeding to work for our babies so that their immune system remains as strong as possible. We want breastfeeding to work for women so that life is as easy as it can possibly be in the midst of everything. Fussing and crying at the breast is miserable for both mother and baby - and can usually be prevented or repaired. Emma McCabe, a breastfeeding counsellor in Brooklyn, New York, and Dr Pamela Douglas, an Australian GP-lactation consultant and...

Welcome to 2020 Baby, a podcast for parents and health professionals committed to caring for babies in a way that is PIPPS, a growing closed Facebook community accompanied by a video library of the latest, evidence-based NDC information (https://education.possumsonline.com/pipps) . Who knows, together we may become a movement for change in early life care!

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic hits New York City hard, and Australia, like the rest of the world, battens down. It's vitally important that women are supported to breastfeed their babies in a way that is easy and enjoyable. Emma McCabe, a breastfeeding counsellor in Brooklyn, New York, and Dr Pamela Douglas, a GP-lactation consultant and breastfeeding medicine specialist, discuss two very commonly unidentified causes of breastfeeding problems. Pam is founder of the evidence-based Neuroprotective...

Now more than ever we want to grow as much enjoyment of our baby as possible. As crazy as it sounds (in a world going crazy), misunderstandings about burps and pukes can make life with your baby much harder than it needs to be. Emma McCabe, a breastfeeding counsellor in Brooklyn, New York, and Dr Pamela Douglas, a GP-lactation consultant and breastfeeding medicine specialist, discuss baby burps, reflux, and misunderstandings about gas and vomiting which can be very disruptive to easy,...

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic hits New York hard, and Australia, like the rest of the world, battens down. This is a conversation recorded Friday 27 March 2020 between Dr Pamela Douglas, an Australian GP-researcher, Emma McCabe, a breastfeeding counsellor in New York City, and Honorary Associate Professor Peter Hill, an Australian academic and public health physician. We discuss the shocking but anticipated arrival of Disease X, living in the epicentre of a pandemic when you are caring for a baby,...

Dr Wendy Burton is Chair of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners' Antenatal and Postnatal Specific Interest Group (maternity-matters.com.au). Associate Professor (Adjunct) Pamela Douglas is founder of the evidence-based Neuroprotective Developmental Care (or 'Possums') programs (possumsonline.com) and author of The discontented little baby book: all you need to know about feeds, sleep, and crying. Wendy talks with Pam about the pivot required in the clinical care of pregnant...