Dr. Linda Mayes (Yale Child Study Center) explores how the neural circuits in adult brains change with parenthood to facilitate childcare. She discusses research which shows how early adversity in a parent’s own childhood, like parental addiction and chronic stress, do not allow important changes in new parents’ brains to take place. As a result, parents who experienced childhood adversity have an impaired ability to understand their babies’ needs and deal with infant-related stresses. Dr. Mayes sees a need for adult intervention programs that increase parental mindfulness and build social networks to reduce parental stress and encourage more empathetic parenting.