Hi,  There is a fascinating  art. in Oct. Scientific America (pg. 14) Hidden
Scars:  Sexual and other abuse may alter a brain region.  It reviews work
being done at UCSD and Yale  looking at survivors of childhood abuse, and
detection of differences (reductions) in brain size -- specifically
reductions of up to 5% in the left hippocampus.  While the work is
preliminary and not yet peer reviewed, it seems to point to the fact that
intense and on-going stress creates release of adrenaline, noradrenaline,
cortisols, opiates and other hormones that flood the system and "break the
thermostat" in a way that is similar to post-traumatic stress disorder
victims of wars etc. That psychological disturbances cause changes in brain
structure which may prove resistant to therapy in the future is  a grim
thought to me.  It  means that our work to promote better and more secure
maternal-child attachment is crucial, and we need to believe in its
importance even when others belittle it.

The 2nd to the last time I saw Niles Newton speak was at an LLLI conf in
Chicago some yrs ago now.  She talked about her concerns that young children
in institutional care in substandard day care centers were being
"over-whelmed" by stress hormomes, and that she suspected this would cause
them permanent damage.  I thought about her so much reading this article.  We
all need to extend our advocacy for mothers and babies to legislation
concerning staff-to-child ratios in care centers, and to more humane
workplaces with on-site care so that mothers and babies don't have to endure
such long separations.  We need to talk with our clients about ways to be
better advocates for their children and how to recognize stress in infants
and young children. I do this routinely during pump trials and work consults.
We need to develop the courage to address these issues and the tact to find
ways to communicate to mothers without simply making them feel guilty.  Guilt
can be a powerful motivational force, but it easily disintegrates into shame.
 Shame is so intolerable people shut down to it.  People in denial are unable
to change.  So nurturing moms, helping them to learn to read their baby's
cues, and giving concrete positive suggestions about alternatives to
situations which stress their kids are ways we can be part of the solution. I
continue to believe this all begins with protecting the breastfeeding
relationship.

Barbara Wilson-Clay, BSE,IBCLC (former child abuse case worker)
Austin.