ABSTRACT
The most important job is that of a parent, for a parent is completely responsible for the life of another person. A mother and father must ensure the survival of a tiny human being who needs help eating, falling asleep, staying clean and staying happy. As new parents fulfill their infant's basic needs for food, comfort and love, they get to know her by learning to decode her unique communication signals, determining whether the distinctive pitches of her cries indicate that she is hungry, tired or just in need of being cuddled. Strange as it may sound, the process of becoming a parent begins long before the birth of a child. Babies may embody all of the magic, innocence and wonderment of a fairy tale. But the realities of pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period can be a very different story.
