The Vital Touch: How Intimate Contact With Your Baby Leads To Happier, Healthier Development (Paperback)

~ (Author) "In the child development classes that I teach, I often ask my students to tell me in what position women have traditionally given birth..." (more)
Key Phrases: fetal tuck, sensory defensiveness, postpartum contact, United States, Berry Brazelton, Margaret Mead (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Using a lively array of anthropological and sociological sources, The Vital Touch presents a provocative examination of the reasons why, now more than ever, we need to make consistent physical connections with our infants and children.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Holt Paperbacks; 1st edition (October 17, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805053549
• ISBN-13: 978-0805053548
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #121,899 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Keep your child close and comforted., July 22, 2001

By	Julie Lovisa (Indiana USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I read this book while pregnant with my first child three years ago. It's eye-opening to contrast the United States with other cultures that promote almost constant contact with their babies. The author shows how our society's emphasis on placing our babies in "containers" (strollers, pumpkin seats, swings, etc.) instead of holding them more often, leads to sensory deprived, more isolated children. There is information on the benefits of the close contact of breastfeeding, co-sleeping, and helping your children become securely attached (think Dr. Sears.) This book is a wonderful comparison between the laid-back childrearing practices of most of the rest of the world and prudish America. You won't want to put your baby down after reading about the wonderful benefits of the vital touch.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars There may never be a more profound or amazing book..., August 17, 1999

By A Customer

Breathe a sigh of relief and never second guess yourself or your loving, instinctual, attachment feelings again. If you've ever wondered which of the "expert" parenting methods are the "right" ones, read "The Vital Touch" not just for one more insight, but to follow the one expert that counts -- you.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars this has enlightened us as parents!, June 13, 1999

By A Customer

how exciting it is to find a book that supports your "maternal instinct" as a way of parenting,when there are so many experts out there trying to guide us on dealing with common american childcare problems such as sleeping through the night and colic,whereas in sharon hellers book she compares our society with that of less advanced more primitive cultures and she finds that fussiness & colic & sleep problems are in fact as american as apple pie.this book has enlightend us as parents to do what we feel is important (massage,parental touch) all supported quite favorably according to the research done by sharon heller as having a profoundly positive affect on our infants. this is a "must read' for any parent.