This book presents recent knowledge, research, and theory about the earliest developmental period--from conception to birth--which holds even greater consequences for the health and development of the human organism than was previously understood. Theory and research in multiple disciplines provide the foundation for the exploration of how experiences during conception and time in the womb; during and after birth; and experiences with caregivers and the family system in the early postnatal period impact an individual physically, cognitively, emotionally, and socially over their life...