Darcia Narvaez, PhD

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Darcia Narvaez is a Professor of Psychology Emerita at the University of Notre Dame. She is the founder of the public and professional educational outreach project, The Evolved Nest Initiative, whose nonprofit mission is to share her science research into developing appropriate baselines for lifelong human wellness by meeting the biological needs of infants. This baseline is imperative at this time as the United States ranks 41st out of 41 developed countries in public policies that support families.

In a 2020 analysis of top scientists, Narvaez emerged in the top 2% of scientists worldwide. Of the eight million scientists in the world, the analysis concerned those who had at least five articles published in scientific journals between 1996 and 2017-- over six million scientists. Individuals were ranked according to various criteria, including number of citations of their work.

Narvaez’s book, Neurobiology and the Development of Human Morality: Evolution, Culture and Wisdom, was chosen for the 2017 Expanded Reason Award from among more than 360 total entries from 170 universities and 30 countries. Narvaez received the prize, including a substantial monetary award, at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in Vatican City on September 27, 2017.  The book also received the William James Award from the American Psychological Association in 2015. 

The Evolved Nest is a breakthrough concept that integrates findings across fields that bear on child development, child raising and adult behavior.  The Evolved Nest promotes optimal health and wellbeing, cooperation, and receptive and sociomoral intelligences. Societal moves away from providing the Evolved Nest have contributed to the ill being and dysregulation we see in one another and society. Learn how to nest your children and re-nest yourself.

Narvaez’s prior careers include professional musician, classroom music teacher, business owner, seminarian and middle school Spanish teacher. Dr. Narvaez’s current research explores how early life experience influences societal culture, wellbeing and sociomoral character in children and adults. She integrates neurobiological, clinical, developmental and education sciences in her theories and research about human nature and human development. She publishes extensively on moral development, parenting and education. Recently she has been studying the Evolved Nest and how it influences wellbeing, sociality and morality. 

On the Evolved Nest’s YouTube channel, you can view the many interdisciplinary conferences she hosted at the University of Notre Dame regarding early experience and human development. In 2016, she organized a conference on Sustainable Wisdom: Integrating Indigenous KnowHow for Global Flourishing, and whose essays were published in a book by the same name in 2019.

The Evolved Nest Collection: Podcasts, Videos, Articles, and Posts

BLOG POSTS:

Psychology Today

Kindred Media, Complete Collection

SOUNDCLOUD PODCAST PLAYLISTS: 

All audio podcasts: https://soundcloud.com/evolvednest

Book Reviews: https://soundcloud.com/evolvednest/sets/book-reviews

The Evolved Nest Explained: https://soundcloud.com/evolvednest/sets/the-evolved-nests-nine

The Evolved Nest’s 24 part series: https://soundcloud.com/evolvednest/sets/evolved-nest-podcast-series

YOUTUBE PLAYLISTS:

See the growing collection of Evolved Nest podcasts and videos on the Evolved Nest YouTube channel here.

DOWNLOAD THE EVOLVED NEST FLYER TO SHARE HERE.

Visit the Evolved Nest's Self-Directed Learning Center here.

What is our Evolved Nest? 

Children are biosocial creatures such that their biology is constructed by their social experience. The evolved nest or evolved developmental niche (EDN) is the ecological system of care provided by families, teachers and communities that aligns with the maturational schedule of the child, satiating the evolved needs of infants and children, allowing them to flourish and develop compassionate spiritualities. The EDN consists of soothing gestation and birth, on-request extensive breastfeeding and positive moving touch (no negative touch), a welcoming social climate, self-directed play with multiple aged mates, warmly responsive nurturing from mother and others, nature immersion and connection, and healing practices to repair miscommunication or hurts. Well-nested children and adults demonstrate social and moral flexibility, adapting to situations and others with emotional and spiritual intelligence

Kindred Breastfeeding Articles, Podcasts and Videos

National Breastfeeding Organizations

Kindred articles on Paid Parental Leave and Paid Family Leave

Kindred articles and videos on Worksite Breastfeeding-Friendly Law

Kindred’s Equity-Diversity-Inclusion Resources

Kindred’s Black Mothers and Fathers Resources

Milk – The Food That Helped Evolve Humanity, A TEDx Talk by Laurel Wilson

Saving Tomorrow Today: An African American Breastfeeding Blueprint

Breastfeeding Posts on Kindred by Darcia Narvaez, PhD

Skimmed: Breastfeeding, Race And Injustice, A Book Review

Breastfeeding In The USA—A Little History, Part 1 Of 2

Breastfeeding’s Importance—What Science Tells Us, Part 2 Of 2

Safe Infant Sleep And Breastfeeding Are Partners

Breastfeeding Moms Face Illegal Discrimination At Work

What Do You Know About Breastfeeding? 

Breastfeeding As Companionship: An Ancient Tradition 

The Myth Of “Breastfeeding Is Optional” 

Breast Milk Keeps Time And May Set Baby’s Clock 

New Book, Unlatched, Explores Whether Breastfeeding Is Vital 

• Breastfeeding Reduces Child Abuse/Neglect VIDEO
• Answering the Critics: Breastmilk Separate of Breastfeeding Does Not Produce the Same Results VIDEO and Article
• Why Sleep Training Is Bad for Moms and Babies: Breastfeeding Moms Get More and Better Sleep VIDEO and Article
• New Research Shows Breastfeeding’s Healing Impact on Sexual Assault Trauma VIDEO and Article
• How Breastfeeding Supports Maternal Mental Health VIDEO and How Other Cultures Support Moms Postpartum Article