Penelope Leach was educated at Cambridge University and at the London School of Economics, where she received her Ph.D. in psychology, after which she studied many aspects of child development and child-rearing under the auspices of Britain's Medical Research Council. A Fellow of the British Psychological Society and a founding member of the UK branch of the World Association for Infant Mental Health, she works on both sides of the Atlantic and in various capacities for organizations concerned with prenatal care and birth, family-friendly working practices, day care and early-years education. She currently co-directs a major program of research in the UK into the effects of various forms and combinations of care on children's development from birth to school age.
