Every mother and father has their own unique story of parenthood, gained through
their experience with their own child. Despite this personal experience, at some
point most parents seek practical advice and reassurance from health professionals
and experts, whether through direct contact, or from reading child-care manuals and
websites. When I gave birth to my twins, I realized that, even as an experienced
visiting postpartum midwife, there was a lot of learning to be done, and I sought
advice from others, too. The advice offered by the different child-care experts of
the day was often conflicting, with some advocating letting babies cry, while others
stressed the importance of attending to babies’ needs. Today, this conflict of advice
remains, and can be even more confusing with all the information available.