Parent and infant, Parents--Psychology, Infant psychology, Attachment behavior 

T. Berry Brazelton, world renowned pediatrician and expert on infant development, and Bertrand Cramer, pioneer in mother-infant psychotherapy, have combined their lifetimes of research and practice in this unique and important book. Never before has research on newborn behavior and parent-infant interaction been fully integrated with psychoanalytic insight into parents' emotions and fantasies.Brazelton and Cramer provide a vivid glimpse of the parents' daydreams and narcissistic wishes which grow into a desire for a child, and they show how these feelings develop into important attachments to the unborn infant during pregnancy. The "power and competence" of the newborn born then challenges parental fantasies, desires, wishes and expectations, creating the beginnings of the bond between parent and child. Using the latest research, the authors clarify all the ways the infant participates in the dawning relationship and the ingredients of very early communication and interaction. They then unveil the "imaginary interactions" which lend meaning and drama to each gesture and expression. We see the baby as Tyrant, as Savior, or as the reincarnation of lost relationships.In the final and most important part of the book, the authors put their unique combined perspective to work in nine striking case narratives drawn from their own practices. Everyone who cares for mothers and babies-pediatricians, developmental and clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, early childhood specialists, nurses and social workers-as well as interested parents, will find this book of immediate value. --This text refers to the Print on Demand (Paperback) edition. Editorial Reviews From Library Journal Celebrated baby doctor Brazelton and psychiatrist/psychoanalyst Cramer describe how, during pregnancy and afterward, parents form attachments and interact with their children, usually positively but often negatively. The authors' combined knowledge about child development and the "ghosts" or "replayed battles" and "reincarnated relatives" from parents' earlier experiences is presented clearly along with informative lists such as the Neonatal Behavior Assessment Scale and in-text physiological research references. Interaction basics are covered, including synchrony, contingency, and entrainment. Most interesting are the nine case studies, which deal with clinical assessment and intervention in parent-child relationships when the parents' fears, fantasies, and ideals collide with the infant's temperament. Recommended. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 10/1/89. - Janice Arenofsky, formerly with Arizona State Lib., Phoenix Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. Review 'This long awaited and much-needed work not only provides a unique dual focus on pregnancy and the very earliest stages of infancy, but integrates the ideas of two truly outstanding contributors to the field of infant work. Berry Brazelton, the pioneer in identifying individual differences and organizing capacities in early infancy, now brings his years of experience and wisdom into the most challenging clinical context. Bert Cramer, an internationally recognized psychoanalyst and researcher, brings his depth-psychological approach to infant-caregiver patterns, making possible a remarkable collaboration.'- Stanley Greenspan, M.D., George Washington University Medical School --This text refers to the Print on Demand (Paperback) edition.