Influential policy-informing 'evidence' that children's brains are irreversibly 'sculpted' by parental care is based on questionable evidence. The study highlights that mothers, in particular, are told that if they are stressed while pregnant or suffer postnatal depression, they will harm their baby's brain. 'Telling parents that acts of love are important because they are 'brain-building' inevitably raises the question of how much cuddling, talking and singing is enough?' the authors state.