BABY BONDING - secure start to life Dr Jenny Sutcliffe

 Baby Bonding, Giving Your Child A Secure Start To Life.

By Dr Jenny Sutcliffe.

Synopsis: FOR CENTURIES, there has been one abiding image of a mother and baby: the Madonna and Child. And one simple idea has become lodged in popular conciousness: that bonding between parent and child is ingrained, straightforward and fundamental as making an apple pie.

Love and concern for your baby is natural and instinctive, but that doesn't mean that ability to bond is always there-at least not in industrialized societies. Today we've forgotten most of what our grandparents knew about forming bonds with our children, mainly because of the disappearance of the extended family and the general need, in the economic climate of the 90's, for both parents to work. And, it's important that we relearn the skills, because positive bonding is vital if a baby is to grow up to form stable and satisfactory relationships and be at peace with the world.  Baby Bonding responds to this need. In clear, simple language, best-selling author Dr Jenny Sutcliffe, a former paediatrician and a mother of five, pulls together the most up-to-date scientific research and the wisdom both of generations of Western parents and of contemporary traditional cultures to give down-to-earth, informed advice about the theory and practise of baby bonding. She discusses baby massage, babywearing and the importance of sounds and smells, for example, as well as the psychological needs both of the baby and the family-whether as a traditional family unit or as a single parent-from pregnancy to the first day of school, emphasizing the importance recognizing and responding  to your child's cues. Throughout the book, special features cast a new light on approaches to baby bonding around the world, highlighting the role of the extended family in non-industrialized societies and giving examples of how baby bonding works in different cultures. This unique and timely book will be essential reading for every concerned parent, or would-be parent of today. (copied from inside dust cover)

Published 1995 in Australia and New Zealand by Hodder and Stoughton 

ISBN 0 340 62275X