In this episode, join us in a discussion with Dr Giorgia Bussu, a passionate neuroscientist and a devoted mum, as she shares her journey of integrating developmental psychology findings into real-life parenting experiences. We talk about navigating the balance between academia and motherhood and discuss the challenges of sifting through social media parenting advice. Dr Bussu offers valuable perspectives on applying research-backed methods in everyday parenting scenarios. Tune in to gain practical wisdom from a scientist mom who seamlessly intertwines her professional expertise with the joys and challenges of raising children. Dr Bussu also runs the Instagram account called "Brain Habit", please check out her page here: https://www.instagram.com/brainhabit. 

While all parents want to raise children who are emotionally intelligent and empathetic, we don't hear much about how it is that empathy actually develops or how to foster it. So today we are speaking to Dr Chiara Bulgarelli about how exactly empathy develops in babies and toddlers. We also discuss an exciting new project that she is working on to explore this topic further. 

If you're interested in participating in Dr Bulgarelli's research study with your child, please sign up here: https://cbcd.bbk.ac.uk/toddlerlab

Happy international womens day! In honour of this very special day we will be speaking to Dr Silvia Rigato about maternal mental health. Dr Rigato is based at the University of Essex and researches maternal mental health and its impact on child development. She is also the co-founder of "It all starts in the womb" (https://www.essex.ac.uk/research-projects/it-all-starts-in-the-womb). 

A study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry estimates that 1 in 4 women mental health problems during pregnancy and in the two years postpartum. This is a staggering number of women that are suffering yet, maternal mental health isn't talked about nearly enough. Women are expected to navigate motherhood and raise their baby (or babies) as many before them have done with little to no support. We need to do better and support needs to be made available at all stages of this challenging journey for all women. It starts with having conversations and making people aware of the very real repercussions of ignoring maternal well-being and mental health.