title: Neuroscience, Joy, and the Well-Infant Visit That Got Me Thinking.
abstract: This essay is the narrative of a seemingly routine well-infant visit and the joyful bond that unites mother and infant and is at the forefront of early infant brain development. An incredible story unfolds. Through this short discourse, I hope to offer a glimmer of insight into the very meaning of being human while encouraging the family physician to foster the mother-infant bond. I explore emerging implications in child mental health, ADHD and ASD; how even during brief interactions of the well-infant and postpartum visits, family physicians can impact the mental development of their little patients in a meaningful way.
authors.affiliation: St. Anthony's Hospital/Franciscan Health System, Gig Harbor, Washington ts.ungar@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Tamas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ungar
mesh_terms: D002657:Child Development; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D010821:Physicians, Family
keywords: ADHD; attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity; autistic disorder; child development; infant health; mother-child relations