Spoil Your Baby

How do our earliest experiences in the womb and during birth shape our nervous systems and the way we parent?
Ashley Makan and Wendy Bruns both began their careers as doulas, driven by a deep calling to support families during birth. Through their work with the Association for Prenatal & Perinatal Psychology & Health (APPPAH), they discovered how early experiences, starting in the womb and continuing through birth, leave lasting imprints on our nervous systems.
They observed that modern culture often dismisses birth as just a single day, ignoring how a pregnant mother's stress and environment shape a baby's developing body. Ashley and Wendy faced the challenge of helping parents navigate inherited patterns without feeling overwhelmed or judged. They realized that breaking intergenerational cycles is not about achieving perfection, but about cultivating curiosity and self-awareness. By understanding where we come from and reconnecting with our bodies, parents can transform how they show up for their children. We believe their work shows us that when we replace judgment with compassion, we can heal past imprints and build deeper connections for generations to come.
Key Takeaways
Our earliest experiences in the womb leave lasting imprints on our nervous systems that influence how we manage stress as adults.
Babies in the womb are constantly sensing and responding to their mother's emotions, heartbeat, and stress levels to regulate their own nervous system.
Breaking generational birth patterns is not about being a perfect parent, but about practicing connection, curiosity, and self-compassion without judgment.
Reconnecting with your body through quiet evening practices helps lower stress and creates a deeper bond with your baby before birth.
Learning your own birth story and history can help you understand your emotional triggers and make conscious choices for your family.

Becoming The Nurtured Mother
https://www.nurture-neuroscience.com/becoming-the-nurtured-mother

Nurture Neuroscience Professional Certification
https://nurture-neuroscience.com/professional-certification-sales-page
Resources
Association for Prenatal & Perinatal Psychology & Health (APPPAH) Website: https://birthpsychology.com
APPPAH's Public Education Channel on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@apppah
APPPAH Podcast: Demystifying Birth Psychology https://birthpsychology.com/podcast
Journal of Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health (APPPAH Journal Archives) https://birthpsychology.com/journal

Guests Bio:
Ashley Makan is a Prenatal and Perinatal Educator, Birth Doula, Body Ready Method® Pro, Reiki Master Teacher, and Meditation Guide specializing in trauma-informed preconception and birth preparation. She is the founder of Bodhi Birth and Wellness in Upstate South Carolina and a student of midwifery in apprenticeship, advocating passionately for prenatal and perinatal psychology.
Wendy Bruns holds a degree in Anthropology from UC Santa Cruz and works as a birth doula and educator. Her role with the Association for Prenatal & Perinatal Psychology & Health (APPPAH) deepens her understanding of how early experiences shape mental, emotional, and physical well-being.
Ready to Connect with Greer?
"Nurture Neuroscience" Website: https://www.nurture-neuroscience.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drgreerkirshenbaum
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/greerkirshenbaum
FREE GUIDE, "Nurture Your Baby's Stress": https://www.nurture-neuroscience.com/nurture-your-babys-stress
FREE GUIDE, "Manage the Stressors & Triggers of Parenting": https://www.nurture-neuroscience.com/manage-the-stressors-of-parenting
Order "The Nurture Revolution" Book: https://www.nurture-neuroscience.com/the-nurture-revolution
Mentioned in this episode:
Nurture Neuroscience Professional Certification
https://nurture-neuroscience.com/pro-certification - for waitlist - this is visible from Feb 1 2027 to Oct 1 2027
https://nurture-neuroscience.com/professional-certification-sales-page - to join - this can be visible until Feb 1 2027

How can tapping into your inner intuition transform the way you navigate motherhood and everyday life?
Sydney Blum built her career bridging strategy and community impact with intuitive practice, helping people listen inwardly and lead from alignment. Early on, she noticed how much our society prioritizes left-brain efficiency, data, and endless doing over quiet inner wisdom. When she became a mother, she realized that this heavy focus on external proof leaves many parents feeling overwhelmed, disconnected from their bodies, and trapped in people-pleasing.
Sydney faced the challenge of helping moms reconnect with their senses in a fast-paced world that lacks the traditional support of a village. Her key transformation came from treating intuition as a daily muscle that we can nurture through presence and intentional practice. She learned that even simple habits, like setting a gentle intention before getting out of bed, can shift our focus toward joy, playfulness, and unexpected gifts. Today, Sydney guides women to trust their inner authority, cultivate self-compassion, and embrace community support. Through her work, she shows us that we do not have to parent or live in isolation. By honoring our intuition, we can step out of fight-or-flight mode and make grounded, confident decisions for ourselves and our families.
Key Takeaways
Intuition is information constantly flowing through our senses and nervous system, helping us make grounded and confident decisions every day.
Modern society overemphasizes left-brain efficiency and data, often causing parents to ignore their own bodies and deep inner wisdom.
Setting an intention before opening your eyes each morning helps focus your mind on playfulness, delight, and unexpected gifts throughout the day.
Overcoming people-pleasing and setting healthy boundaries becomes much easier when you trust your inner authority as a parent.
We were never meant to navigate growth alone, and seeking community guides helps us reconnect with our intuition and true self.

Becoming The Nurtured Mother
https://www.nurture-neuroscience.com/becoming-the-nurtured-mother

Nurture Neuroscience Professional Certification
https://nurture-neuroscience.com/pro-certification - for waitlist - this is visible from Feb 1 2027 to Oct 1 2027
https://nurture-neuroscience.com/professional-certification-sales-page - to join - this can be visible until Feb 1 2027
Resources
ILI website: https://ili.sydneyblum.com
One on One consultations: https://sydneyblum.com/workwithme
Sydney Blum's email: sydneyblum@gmail.com
Sydney Blum's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sydneyrebecc
Sydney Blum's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sydneyblum

Guests Bio:
Sydney Blum helps people strengthen their ability to listen inwardly and lead from a deeper sense of alignment. She brings together her experience in community impact and strategy with intuitive practice to explore how inner knowledge shapes our relationships, leadership, and the future we create.
Ready to Connect with Greer?
"Nurture Neuroscience" Website: https://www.nurture-neuroscience.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drgreerkirshenbaum
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/greerkirshenbaum
FREE GUIDE, "Nurture Your Baby's Stress": https://www.nurture-neuroscience.com/nurture-your-babys-stress
FREE GUIDE, "Manage the Stressors & Triggers of Parenting": https://www.nurture-neuroscience.com/manage-the-stressors-of-parenting
Order "The Nurture Revolution" Book: https://www.nurture-neuroscience.com/the-nurture-revolution
Mentioned in this episode:
Becoming The Nurtured Mother
https://www.nurture-neuroscience.com/becoming-the-nurtured-mother

How can embracing the unknown and trusting our wild instincts transform our journey into parenthood?
Dr. Britta Bushnell began her path in childbirth education over twenty-five years ago, rooted in her lifelong passion for storytelling and mythology. After years as a co-owner of Birthing From Within, she earned a PhD in mythology and psychology to understand how narrative shapes our readiness for life transformations.
Throughout her career, she observed how modern culture pushes parents to rely heavily on technology, schedules, and strict information - an energy represented by the sun god Apollo. However, this hyper-focus on control often leaves new parents feeling underprepared and isolated when facing the messy reality of birth. Dr. Bushnell faced the challenge of helping parents navigate this gap between rigid expectations and unpredictable outcomes.
Her key transformation came through connecting birth to the goddess Artemis, who represents our untamed, animal nature and the wilderness. She learned that "not knowing" is not a problem to fix, but a necessary part of any true rite of passage. Through her book *Transformed by Birth* and her teachings, she guides parents to step away from excessive control, listen to their quiet inner intuition, and embrace the messy middle of transformation. We believe her work shows us that when we trust the wild journey, we gain deep confidence in ourselves.
Key Takeaways
Facing the unknown is an inherent and essential part of any true rite of passage, not something that needs to be fixed.
Over-relying on strict control, technology, and schedules can leave new parents feeling unsupported when real labor and parenthood begin.
Birth brings us deeply into our untamed animal nature, requiring us to move beyond rigid society rules into intuitive territory.
Transformation is a gradual process that requires us to slow down and accept the uncomfortable, messy middle stage of growth.
Developing discernment alongside intuition helps us filter out rigid parenting advice and honor our own quiet inner voice.

Becoming The Nurtured Mother
https://www.nurture-neuroscience.com/becoming-the-nurtured-mother

Nurture Neuroscience Professional Certification
https://nurture-neuroscience.com/pro-certification - for waitlist - this is visible from Feb 1 2027 to Oct 1 2027
https://nurture-neuroscience.com/professional-certification-sales-page - to join - this can be visible until Feb 1 2027
Resources
Dr. Britta Bushnell's Website: https://brittabushnell.com
Dr. Britta Bushnell's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/britta-bushnell-phd-3062634
Dr. Britta Bushnell's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brittabushnellphd

Guests Bio:
Dr. Britta Bushnell is a mother, veteran childbirth educator, celebrated speaker, podcast host, mythologist, and specialist in childbirth, couples, and parenting. For over 25 years, she has worked with individuals and couples as they prepare for birth, drawing from her doctoral work in mythology and psychology, her background as co-owner of Birthing From Within, and her study of brief therapy, storytelling, and relationship vibrancy.
Ready to Connect with Greer?
"Nurture Neuroscience" Website: https://www.nurture-neuroscience.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drgreerkirshenbaum
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/greerkirshenbaum
FREE GUIDE, "Nurture Your Baby's Stress": https://www.nurture-neuroscience.com/nurture-your-babys-stress
FREE GUIDE, "Manage the Stressors & Triggers of Parenting": https://www.nurture-neuroscience.com/manage-the-stressors-of-parenting
Order "The Nurture Revolution" Book: https://www.nurture-neuroscience.com/the-nurture-revolution
Mentioned in this episode:
Becoming The Nurtured Mother
https://www.nurture-neuroscience.com/becoming-the-nurtured-mother

Why does our society place more value on controlled baby sleep than on maternal support, proper feeding, or comfort?

Tracy Cassels began her influential work while pursuing her PhD in developmental psychology, coinciding with her pregnancy. She observed a profound contradiction between the widespread advice advocating for infant sleep training—even when pushed by some academics—and the robust findings found in developmental literature and her own research. This mismatch, which she initially felt was a foreign concept given her own background, became the critical momentum to start sharing her perspective publicly. This led to the launch of her extensive website, Evolutionary Parenting, roughly 15 years ago. This platform developed into an invaluable resource, providing detailed and thoroughly referenced information on nearly every topic related to infant brain development for parents. Tracy often interacts with families, some of whom bring along skeptical relatives or partners, seeking clarification on the evidence surrounding sleep practices. She approaches the topic by presenting an honest assessment of what the research confirms and what remains unknown, helping listeners discern the subtleties often missing from conventional advice. She argues that the findings against certain practices, such as sleep training, form an “incredibly strong circumstantial case” rather than a clear-cut legal link. Furthermore, Tracy contends that many sleep problems are misinterpreted as behavioral failures when they are actually symptoms of underlying issues like allergies, sleep apnea, or hormonal imbalances. Her most recent paper with Levita DeSousa advocates for researchers to adopt a much broader perspective, moving away from seeking a "one size fits all solution" and instead considering the full family dynamic, cultural influences, and health context when studying infant sleep.
Key Takeaways
Sleep problems are often symptoms of underlying physical or psychological issues, not always primary behavioral faults of the baby or parent.
The research focusing specifically on mothers and babies, particularly concerning clinical interventions and emotional connection, is significantly lacking.
An overemphasis on controlled sleep in modern society leads parents to prioritize it over other critical nurturing components like love, comfort, and proper feeding.
Some research proposes methods to help mothers suppress the natural anxiety they feel when hearing their distressed baby cry, counteracting an essential evolutionary response.
Infant sleep should be viewed as a family dynamic influenced by culture, general family preferences, health issues, and the need for connection.

THIS EPISODE REVISITS THE KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM OUR EPISODE 43 - Evolutionary Parenting: Beyond the Sleep Training Narrative feat. Tracy Cassel - Go listen to the full episode if you want to learn more.
Join The Nurture Neuroscience Practitioner Certification
https://nurture-neuroscience.com/professional-certification-sales-page
Resources
Tracy’s Instagram: @tracycasselsphdhttps://www.instagram.com/tracycasselsphd
Book by Tracy Cassels:
Finding Daycare: Navigating the Murky World of Child Care in Today’s Society
https://www.amazon.com/Finding-Daycare-Navigating-Todays-Society-ebook/dp/B07PGDR6TC
Evolutionary Parenting’s website: https://evolutionaryparenting.com

Guest Bio: Tracy Cassels holds a PhD in developmental psychology and is the founder of Evolutionary Parenting. She co-authored a paper with Levita DeSousa, an attachment theory specialist at Monash University in Australia, focusing on how sleep training ignores the larger family dynamic. She is also a contributor to an upcoming academic book on sleep, edited by Jenny (who Greer has also written with), which includes chapters from Darshan Arves and LaVita DeSousa.
Ready to Connect with Greer?
"Nurture Neuroscience" Website:https://www.nurture-neuroscience.com
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/drgreerkirshenbaum
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/greerkirshenbaum
FREE GUIDE, "Nurture Your Baby's Stress":https://www.nurture-neuroscience.com/nurture-your-babys-stress
FREE GUIDE, "Manage the Stressors & Triggers of Parenting":https://www.nurture-neuroscience.com/manage-the-stressors-of-parenting
Order "The Nurture Revolution" Book:https://www.nurture-neuroscience.com/the-nurture-revolution

What happens when we spend our adult lives searching for a quality of maternal love we never received as a child?


Kelly McDaniel, a licensed professional counselor and author, introduced the concept of "Mother Hunger" in her first book, Ready to Heal. She identified Mother Hunger as an attachment injury stemming from maternal deprivation, noting that millions of women suffer a lifelong emotional burden that adversely affects self-worth, eating habits, and relational wellness. This profound attachment trauma, Kelly explains, is a neurobiological craving for unmet needs: nurturing, protection, and guidance. This "hunger" is often misunderstood and sought inappropriately from romantic partners, friends, or authority figures. Kelly's work illuminates how cultural forces, especially patriarchy, compromise a mother’s capacity to provide a consistent, safe caregiving environment, leading to generational trauma that impacts secure attachment. Kelly published her second book, Mother Hunger, in 2021, compiling research since 2008 to explore how adult daughters can understand and heal from these losses. She emphasizes that while we cannot go back in time, neuroscience shows that our brains can change throughout life, offering hope and opportunity for repair. Her clinical approach helps adult daughters identify this craving, understand the truth of their pain, and become "cycle breakers" in their own families.
Key Takeaways
Mother Hunger is a profound neurobiological craving for three essential elements of maternal care: nurturing, protection, and guidance.
Unmet needs often arise from ancestral inheritance, cultural environments, and unhealed trauma, not necessarily a lack of maternal love.
A mother can be physically present but emotionally absent due to unhealed trauma, leading to chronic, automatic dissociation.
Healing Mother Hunger enables adult daughters to break epigenetic cycles of trauma, improving their self-worth and relational wellness outcomes.
The spiritual component of mothering involves stretching our own capacity for love, loving unconditionally, and embracing personal growth.


THIS EPISODE REVISITS THE KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM OUR EPISODE 42 - Why Maternal Love is a Neurobiological Craving feat. Kelly McDaniel - Go listen to the full episode if you want to learn more.
Join The Nurture Neuroscience Practitioner Certification
https://nurture-neuroscience.com/professional-certification-sales-page
Resources
Kelly’s website: https://kellymcdanieltherapy.com
Books by Kelly McDaniel:
Ready to Heal: Helping Women Heal from Addictive Relationships.
Mother Hunger: How Adult Daughters Can Understand and Heal from Lost Nurturance, Protection, and Guidance (Hay House, 2021).
https://kellymcdanieltherapy.com/books
Contribution: Making Advances; A Comprehensive Guide for Treating Female Sex and Love Addicts. https://www.amazon.com/Making-Advances-Comprehensive-Treating-Addicts/dp/098574720X
Mentioned in conversation: Mark Wolynn’s book, It Didn’t Start With You. https://a.co/d/3yJpvKw

Guest Bio: Kelly McDaniel, LCMHC, is an author and licensed professional counselor who developed the term “Mother Hunger” to identify an attachment injury related to maternal deprivation. She specializes in nurturing insecure attachment and healing addictive relational patterns in adult women. She holds an MA in English Literature from Georgetown University (1991) and an MA in Counseling from St. Mary’s University (2004). Kelly is also a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist (CSAT). She has devoted herself to this work since naming Mother Hunger in 2008.
Ready to Connect with Greer?
"Nurture Neuroscience" Website:https://www.nurture-neuroscience.com
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/drgreerkirshenbaum
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/greerkirshenbaum
FREE GUIDE, "Nurture Your Baby's Stress":https://www.nurture-neuroscience.com/nurture-your-babys-stress
FREE GUIDE, "Manage the Stressors & Triggers of Parenting":https://www.nurture-neuroscience.com/manage-the-stressors-of-parenting
Order "The Nurture Revolution" Book:https://www.nurture-neuroscience.com/the-nurture-revolution