Bertrand Cramer – The Earliest Relationship: Parents, Infants, And The Drama Of Early Attachment

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.