<p> The First Year of Life was the first series of ABC articles commissioned and published weekly by the BMJ and later collected and published as a book. This new fifth edition is called ABC of the First Year to identify it with the ABC series. The ABC series is continuing to tackle new subjects in all branches of medicine and surgery: 46 series have been published and 43 books arc still in print. The first edition of The First Year of Life was printed in black and white and some colour was introduced in the last edition. The majority of the pages in this new edition arc in colour and nearly 100 new photographs have been added. Each chapter has been thoroughly revised with considerable changes in the chapters on prenatal assessment, infants of low birthweight, breathing difficulties in the newborn, and diarrhoea. The charts for developmental review have incorporated the latest recommendations of the Department of Health. New sections have been added on the infant of low birthweight at home, advice on travelling abroad with an infant, and paediatric HIV infection. </p>

---