This week on The Night Feed, I’m diving into one of the most divisive and emotionally loaded topics in modern parenting: sleep training.

More specifically, the question so many mums end up Googling through tears in the middle of the night: Is cry it out actually harmful?

We talk about why this debate feels louder than ever, how social media has turned baby sleep into a moral battleground, and what the research from the past decade actually says about sleep training and attachment.

I read a listener email from a mum caught between exhaustion and instinct, unpack what people really mean when they say “cry it out,” and gently walk through the science around attachment, stress, and cortisol without fear-mongering or judgement.

This episode isn’t about telling you what to do.
It’s about making space for nuance, reality, and compassion for yourself.

Because most parents aren’t choosing a method, they’re choosing survival.

In this episode we talk about:

• Why the sleep training debate feels so intense right now
• What “cry it out” actually means (and why it’s not one thing)
• What the research says about sleep training and attachment
• Stress, cortisol, and what gets misunderstood online
• Why shame, not sleep methods causes the most harm
• A gentler way to think about sleep decisions in early motherhood

Self-care tip:
I share a simple but powerful idea for new mums: creating a “closing ritual” for your day to help your nervous system stand down, even if the night is broken.

If you’re listening in the dark, feeling torn, tired, and unsure you’re not alone. And you’re not doing this wrong.

I’d love to hear where you land on this.
You can email me, message me, or drop a comment.

thenightfeedpodcast@gmail.com

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