ABSTRACT
In the twenty-first century, the conflict between motherhood and work will remain central in the lives of women. This chapter discusses women confronted with the question of whether to work, bear a child, or both. The psychoanalytic theory of femininity is drawn upon to cast light on the conflict between motherhood and work. The chapter examines the mother's concerns about the potential effects of maternal absence and surrogate mothering on the mother–child relationship as well as the child's development. The psychoanalytic theory of the trans-generational transmission of motherliness was initially based on individual cases. Conflicts between work and parenthood are by no means limited to women. The chapter presents clinical examples that describes two patients who made divergent choices between job and motherhood. Today, pregnant women and mothers of infants are faced with the problem of reconciling motherhood with work. The crucial issue here is how much maternal absence is tolerable for the child and the mother–child relationship.
