> So, does this mean that all the mothers in the study mentioned
> the other day have studied German art history, or that the position is an
> adaptive one for human mothers and babies?

Based on research to date (mine and others) I would concur -- it is both
instinctive and adaptive.

I also agree with Rachel's comment re. Fio's post. The talk Magda reported
on (and the research we have done on bed-sharing and breastfeeding)
referred only to babies under 4 months old.

I will be trying to track down a copy of your German painting. My own
favourite (so far) is by an early 20th century Yorkshire painter call Fred
Elwell. It hangs in a public art gallery in Hull, UK, and is called 'The
Firstborn'. Painted in the early part of this century it depicts a mother
lying in bed with her newborn. The father is sitting on the bedside
observing the pair. The mother and baby are positioned EXACTLY as in our
videos (curled up round baby, arm out, facing each other, baby at breast
height). I was so pleased when I first found it I wrote to the gallery to
tell them about our research and ask how I could purchase a copy. They
donated a print which now hangs in our lab. I would be delighted to hear of
any other artwork depicting a similar scenario.

Helen Ball
Parent-Infant Sleep Lab
Dept Anthropology, University of Durham, UK

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