Every Child's Birthright: In Defense of Mothering

by Selma H. Fraiberg

Book by Fraiberg, Selma H

Genres: Parenting

Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Selma Fraiberg (1918–1981) was a child psychoanalyst, author and social worker. She studied infants with congenital blindness in the 1970s. She found that blind babies had three problems to overcome: learning to recognize parents from sound alone, learning about permanence of objects, acquiring a typical or healthy self image. She also found that vision acts as a way of pulling other sensory modalities together and with out sight babies are delayed. In addition to her work with blind babies, she also was one of the founders of the field of infant mental health and developed mental health treatment apporaches for infants, toddlers and their families.

Reviews

[Deirdre K · Rating 4 out of 5]

the taboo idea that a child need his or her mother during the early years.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is pretty much a relic. An overly forceful answer from a position that seemed to be under attack. I am hopeful that modern feminism isn't perceived to be quite so anti-mother, as I am both feminist and mother.

It was actually really nice to read her stark contrast between what childbirth and parenting should be vs. what it was then. While the American dependency on medically intensive childbirth is still too invasive (see Naomi Wolf's Misconceptions - but only if you are not planning on delivering a baby in the next couple of months or it will terrify you), it has really come a long way in 30 years!

[Covenant Presbyterian Springfield Ohio]

Call Number: PS 301.427

Checked Out.