While spending time in the South American jungle, Jean Liedloff witnessed babies "snoozing blissfully" while the people carrying them "danced, ran or paddled canoes."
She noted that these babes in arms almost never cried, rarely threw-up or suffered from colic.
On her return she published The Continuum Concept advocating 'attachment parenting'. The basic principles include allowing the baby to breastfeed at will, holding the baby while you go about your daily business and allowing him to sleep in your bed until he chooses to leave (typically at around two years of age).
Liedloff claims her methods are backed by evolutionary theory.
"During the time we evolved, which covers millions of years, we have always been held by somebody," she says.
"As pre-humans, as hunter-gatherers, through the beginning of agriculture, we were never left alone. And if we had been, we might have been gobbled up by wolves."
The method means parents don't need to down tools to fit in with the baby's routine. It bypasses the need for expensive prams and allows mum or dad to be constantly at hand reducing the anxiety that some parents feel when separated from their child. In addition, the child never feels abandoned and at night the baby can latch onto the mother's breast without waking her.
On the downside, some experts worry about parents rolling on top of their babies in bed at night, and the system is frustrating for women who can't breastfeed. Moreover, many find constant contact impossible in the modern world and the chances of conceiving a playmate for baby numero uno may get shelved until you reclaim the marital bed.
The method's proponents including child experts William and Martha Sears and 'Close Baby Carrier' creator Claire Scott.
Ms Scott says the Continuum Concept "respects human instinct and behaviour, in order to achieve optimal emotional, mental and physical wellbeing."
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