When it comes to early parenting, scientific evidence points time and again to the bond between parent and child as a critical factor in a baby's health and wellbeing. Backed by more than 1,200 trusted sources, this breakthrough guide reveals the many little-known advantages that only a responsive, nurturing parenting style can provide:

• Surprising evidence on the benefits of breastfeeding
• How attentiveness and touch impacts permanent brain development in infants
• Under-reported facts about how to reduce colic, food allergies, and illness
• Why sharing sleep is both safe and natural
• How to reduce future teen-year stress by bonding with your young child early

At the forefront of a passionate, growing movement called "attachment parenting," this warmly presented guide is a rare overview of information too often missing from parenting circles, pediatric offices, and financially motivated product promotions.

Why Attachment Parenting?

• Cultures around the world that practice more natural forms of parenting have healthier infants who cry much less, toddlers who do not exhibit "terrible twos," generally respectful teenagers, and independent adults who participate in family matters.
• A well-controlled study found sleeping outside of the parents' room brought 10.5 times the risk of SIDS as sleeping in the parents' room.
• Studies have shown that infants who receive frequent physical affection have lower overall levels of stress.
• In the United States and other industrialized countries, the infant death rate for formula-fed infants is twice that of exclusively breastfed babies.