For our babies : ending the invisible neglect of America's infants / by J. Ronald Lally ; foreword by T. Berry Brazelton & Joshua Sparrow.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 135-152) and index.

Part I Recognizing the Importance of Support for Babies and their Families -- 1 A Society Changes; Its Thinking and Policies Don't 1 -- Commonly Held Theories of Child Rearing 2 -- The Changing American Family 4 -- A Look at Families with Babies Today 8 -- The Needs of the Changed Family 11 -- 2 How the New Brain Research Changes Everything! 13 -- The Brains Need for a "Social Womb" 14 -- How Did Scientists Learn About the Infant Brain? 15 -- Making Crucial Information About Infancy Available to the General Public 18 -- Discovering Critical and Sensitive Periods in Brain Development 20 -- Given What We Know, We Must Respond 22 -- Part II Understanding Babies1 Needs -- 3 Supporting Growth During Preconception and Pregnancy 27 -- The Development of the Brain While in the Womb 28 -- Needed Attention to Preconception Health 29 -- Needed Attention to Prenatal Development During Pregnancy 34 -- Necessary Supports During Preconception 37 -- Necessary Supports During Pregnancy 38 -- 4 What a Newborn Needs from Birth to 9 Months: The Bonding Period 41 -- The Social Womb, Part 1: The Time of Bonding 43 -- Supports Necessary to Sustain Development During the First 9 Months of Life 46 -- How U.S. Policies Negatively Impact Babies 52 -- 5 What the Infant Needs from 7 to 18 Months: The Exploration Stage 56 -- The Social Womb, Part 2: The Time of Exploration 57 -- What Babies Need to Get from Relationships 59 -- Supports Necessary to Sustain Development from 7 to 18 Months 62 -- The Low Quality of Child Care in the United States 63 -- Babies at Risk 67 -- 6 What the Toddler Needs from 15 to 36 Months: The Stage of Self-Definition 69 -- The Social Womb, Part 3: A Time of Identity Building 70 -- Supports Necessary to Sustain Development Between 15 and 36 Months 76 -- 7 Recommended Supports and Services for Babies and Their Families 78 -- Preconception 79 -- Pregnancy 80 -- The First 9 Months 81 -- From 7 to 18 Months 83 -- From 15 to 36 Months 84 -- Supporting Babies' Healthy Development 85 -- Part III Why it Makes Sense to Help Families Meet the Needs of Their Babies -- 8 Economic Benefits of Investment in U.S. Babies 89 -- Preconception Health Services 90 -- Pregnancy Services 91 -- Well-Baby Care Services 93 -- Guaranteed Health-Care Coverage for Families with Children Under Age 3 94 -- Paid Leave and Quality Infant/Toddler Care 95 -- 9 A Final Message 103.

The author combines information about what babies need during the first two years of their growth with a discussion of political policies that restrict our ability to provide them with what they need.