ABSTRACT
This early paper of Winnicott’s continues to attract historical debate (Aguayo, 2002; Reeves, 2006) among contemporary theorists for its attempt to establish the conditions for a scientific study of early infantile processes and the emotional foundations of infant mental health. It has been seen as containing the bases for much of Winnicott’s later work (Davis, 1993; Reeves, 2006) but as also demonstrating a distinctively Kleinian approach (Likierman, 2007). It is a significant paper in the history of psychoanalysis because it is willing to conjecture about psychic processes on the basis of consistent empirical data and to hypothesize about the close links between the psyche and the physiological processes discernible in the infant. It was first given at a meeting of the BPAS in April 1941, with the title ‘Observations on Asthma in an Infant and Its Relation to Anxiety’ (Reeves, 2006: 292, n. 3). The paper was revised for later publication in the IJPA, and both Rodman (2003) and Reeves (2006) argue for Melanie Klein’s close involvement in the final version. Without an original version, however, these readings, though convincing, remain part of wider speculative debates tracing Klein’s influence. Although the child with asthma appears in the published paper, the brief is much wider, and the paper is centred on the accumulated data from Winnicott’s paediatric practice and his development of a common consultative procedure for all mothers and babies attending his clinic at Paddington Green.
