title: Newborn capabilities: parent teaching is a necessity.
abstract: Parent-infant communication has long-lasting effects on the development of a peaceful and healthy child, adult, and society. Childbirth education classes offer the perfect setting for teaching parents how to recognize and respond to their infant's cues. This column provides a list of potential learning tasks for parents and their infants in order to facilitate and improve the basis of effective communication.
authors.affiliation: B arbara H otelling is an independent childbirth educator and doula in Rochester Hills, Michigan. She currently serves as president of Lamaze International and as a faculty member of Lamaze. She has also served as president of Doulas of North America (DONA) and chair of the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services (CIMS).
authors.forename: Barbara A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Hotelling