Shining a Light Into the Dark Corners: Revealing Maternal Ambivalence

• Published in: PsycCritiques Vol. 56; no. 24; p. No Pagination Specified
• Main Author: McBride, Cami K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Psychological Association 15.06.2011
• Subjects: Ambivalence; Doubt; Expectant Mothers; Fear; Female; Guilt; Human; Mother Child Relations; Mothers
• ISSN: 1554-0138; 1554-0138
• DOI: 10.1037/a0023829

Reviews the book, The monster within: The hidden side of motherhood, by Barbara Almond (see record 2010-21568-000). This book addresses the fear of maternal ambivalence; the author deftly illuminates how failure to recognize this fear is far more damaging than is its recognition and acceptance. Combining case studies from Almond’s own clinical practice, as well as more extreme examples from literature, she makes clear the many forms and manifestations of maternal ambivalence. Through this format, the text is quite accessible to a number of audiences, from a clinician working with ambivalent mothers to mothers themselves as a self-help text in which their struggles are sympathetically described. The text has clear value as a cautionary tale of what can go wrong when we refuse to acknowledge maternal ambivalence. As suggested by Barbara Almond, all mothers experience maternal ambivalence in some form; however, not only does its pervasiveness make it normal, but its existence may be adaptive. The text also explains how the mother and the child suffer greatly from ambivalence carried to extremes. This book is recommended reading for psychotherapists, psychotherapists in training, and clients in search of insight. Recognizing the normalcy of these feelings and their appropriate manifestation will serve the public health by freeing mothers from fear, doubt, and guilt. This well-written text draws one to the ultimate conclusion that we must accept maternal ambivalence as a normative adaptation in order to encourage growth and development of children and mothers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)