ABSTRACT

The invincible image of the power and safety of the mother is determined by a multitude of experiences. Although early biological evidence offers verifying data that there is an innate capacity for built-in trust in the mother, it is not well documented; there appears to be a connecting inner pre-wired biology that provides a turn toward the mother or carer. When pain is relieved, the remembrance of relief contributes to the wonderment about the mother and her invincibility. A “fix it” fantasy begins to form from this experience, and a belief in the mother’s powers to control everything. Gaddini also examines the pain, saying that the mother has to find ways to console the baby’s experience of a lost union with her, “a union that preserves his(her) sense of being”, a basic sensation connected with care aspects. The infant is unable to build defences. Maternal caring provides the baby with profound equipment.