Babies in Mind

Book excerpt: Does it affect your baby if you are depressed or stressed out? Is it OK to leave your baby alone to cry? What is the role of a father? How can you create a good bond between you and your baby? For how long should you be apart from your baby during the first year? These are just a few of the many questions that all new parents face. But, at last, "Babies in Mind" is here to help you. Backed by extensive research as well as clinical and personal experience, psychologist Jenny Perkel gently guides you in deciding what is best for both you and your baby. Being a new parent is immensely challenging. Not only do you have to handle your baby's physical needs but you have to attend to your baby's psychological, needs too. Babies in Mind is the only book that explains how to give babies in their first year of life what they really need from a purely psychological perspective. Written for both mothers and fathers, the book is informed by psychological and medical research which shows that emotional difficulties in later life can sometimes have their roots in infancy. The way in which babies are handled and related to by their caregivers has a direct and powerful link to the kind of people they will grow into. This book is for parents who are mindful of their baby's psychological needs.