The first episode of 5-part "The Secret Life of the Brain" currently
running in the U.S. on Public Broadcasting Channels, (and probably to be
re-broadcast eventually) starts with "The Baby Brain" and a long section
on preemies, speculating on how the rapid brain development of gestation
might be altered by the stimulation of the loud, bright world outside.
A doctor, very gentle and obviously passionate about babies, eloquently
advocates kangaroo care, along the lines of "the warmth, the heartbeat,
the breast.." being what the baby expects.  A bit disappointing that the
show didn't mention how breastmilk supports optimal development, and the
only baby shown feeding is the kangaroo-care baby getting a bottle from
the father (oh, surely it's expressed breastmilk.)

A sweet, very brief, scene in the second episode on language
acquisition: an adorable bilingual two-year-old, on his mother's lap,
happily pointing at pictures as the researcher says the Spanish words.
For "leche" he dutifully points to the carton, then turns around and
tugs his mother's shirt, and she laughs and says, "Well, he's nursing.."

Margaret Wills, LLLL, IBCLC

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