Maternal-Infant Bonding

Abstract

Physicians have become increasingly aware that promoting good health often requires more than the physical care of the patient. Research in psychosomatic medicine has shown clearly the intimate ties between psychological and physiological functioning. Practitioners are increasingly aware that for the cure of many disorders, changes are required in the patient's behavioral world as well as his medical one. Involvement in the psychological well-being of the patient has been a growing concern of pediatricians as evidence has mounted that early disturbances in family relations can have serious effects on the care and outcome for children even in early infancy. Marshall Klaus and John Kennell, the authors of this book, have had key roles in bringing these ideas to the attention of the field, and in so doing may have established a new subarea in pediatrics: the psychological care of the newborn. In brief, their position is that the initial emotional