The newborn baby communicates with its parents or caregivers through a series of seemingly disorganised body movements and gestures in addition to their vocal cries and behavioural style (Brazelton and Nugent, Neonatal behavioral assessment scale (no. 137). Cambridge University Press, 1995). Despite these communicative behaviours, until the 1980s, scientists did not believe the foetus or newborn baby could see, hear or experience any real pain or distress. We now know this supposed lack of feeling to be untrue since validated measurement scales devised in the 1980s and 1990s have investigated the impacts of pain and distress on the neonate by studying subtle changes in their facial expressions. Infant pain and distress experienced during childbirth could potentially have negative consequences for the child’s future physical and mental health. While scientists have previously studied the short-term physical impacts of childbirth on the newborn baby, the three studies contained in this book were the first to conduct an in-depth exploration of childbirth and the perinatal period, examining the impact of both physical and psychological perinatal factors on early infant behaviour and temperament. Parent-infant bonding and maternal confidence are also explored.