With the birth of Dr. Palmer's son, her usual passion for research turned toward infant health and parenting. Her research in this area led to writing Baby Matters. Dr. Palmer is also an instructor in physiology and pediatric nutrition, a natural childbirth educator, a lecturer and science writer. These practices have been promoted for several reasons, mostly linked to industry profits. Few will tell you the research findings and the feeding and parenting solutions that work.
Ear infections are also more pervasive today.
Science shows that cow's milk proteins and other proteins in formula or mother's diet are the chief causes, and that antibiotics, the common treatment, statistically create more problems than solutions. Diabetes, bowel disease, arthritis, and cancers, on the rise in both children and adults, are also strongly linked to infant feeding choices. In the psychological realm, parents have been encouraged to ignore their babies' cries and their own very strong urges to respond, but I have found no sound research to support any long-term benefits of this kind of detached parenting. In fact, a mountain of psychology studies suggest that responsive parenting is best.