A new look at the vulnerability of puerperal mothers — A clinical study of two inpatient families at the Cassel Hospital

SUMMARY

The paper reviews some previous writings by Dr. Tom Main and Dr. Peter Lomas about the work of the Cassel Hospital with puerperal mothers. It goes on to describe the case histories and treatment of two patients recently treated with their families. The emphasis is on actual material produced in therapy but with reference to other aspects of the much wider treatment structures employed by the Cassel, for example the nursing and the community. Important aspects focussed upon include the essential experience of good mothering in becoming a mother, how closeness to the infantile impulses and urges of a real baby can lead to profound measures of identification and projection, and the effects of motherhood on femininity and sexuality.