Debate

Introduction of the mother as the primary caregiver

A primary caregiver is the person who is most responsible for an infant’s health, development & well-being. This debate suggests that there is a primary caregiver.

Why is this a debate in Psychology?

This is an ethically sensitive debate. We live in a society that promotes equality and opportunity regardless of gender. However, if the evidence suggests that the mother is best primary caregiver of an infant – this will be a dilemma. What does it mean for the career prospects of mothers? What does it mean for fathers who want tobe the primary caregiver of their infants?

For the mother as the primary caregiver: the feeding debate

The NHS recommends that if a mother can, she should breast fed her baby for at least the first six months or more of their lives. Breast feeding is reported to be the healthiest start for infants because it protects them from infections and diseases. The NHS also claim that breast feeding can help to create a strong physical and emotional bond between mother and baby important in subsequent emotional development. The feeding argument means that obviously the mother is the one that needs to be available to feed their infant potentially every two hours. This argument alone means that it is both practical and essential to the infant’s survival that the mother be the primary care giver. The father and anyone else are limited to a supporting caregiving role.

Against the mother as the primary caregiver: the feeding debate

In the 1950s behaviourists promoted the view that infants were classically conditioned to associate the person who fed them with a sense of pleasure. Food (is the unconditional stimulus) and creates a pleasure response, (unconditioned response) The person is associated with feeding and so becomes a conditioned stimulus producing a conditioned response of pleasure. This therefore means that a father could satisfy the needs of the baby. For example, a father could bottle-feed the baby ensuring the baby’s pleasure needs are met. It does not have to be the mother who is solely responsible for feeding, the father or any other caregiver can provide equal amounts of satisfaction to their infant.

Research has also shown that feeding does not equal love. This was demonstrated by Harlow & Harlow (1958) who investigated, which was more important for infant and mother attachment food or contact comfort?They placed infant monkeys with two wire mothers. One had a feeding bottle attached and the other was covered in a soft cloth. The monkeys spent more of their time on the cloth covered mother, especially when frightened. Schaffer and Emerson (1964) supported this finding in a study of human behaviour. They found that primary attachments were not formed with the person that fed or spent most time with the infant. Strongly attached infants had carers who respond quickly and sensitively to their signals and who offered their child the most interaction. This demonstrates that food does not create an emotional bond, contact comfort does.

For the mother as the primary caregiver:

Freud’s views

Freud believed that the mother and infant relationship was of the greatest importance in the initial oral stage of psychosexual development. Infants depend on their mother to satisfy their oral needs. Overindulgence or frustration in the oral stage of development leads to fixation and emotional problems later in life, such as neediness andpessimism. Freud also claimed that separation anxiety is caused by the infant realising that their bodily needs will go unsatisfied if separation occurs. Freud said that a mother’s love acts as a prototype for every relationship the infant will go on to have in their lifetime. Arguably too many caregivers or changes in caregivers is confusing for an infant and they don’t get to know and feel safe with any one person. It is essential for babies to have this connection with a primary care giver to understand themselves and how to relate to others. A baby who knows that their distress will be comforted, and their needs met will feel secure and safe. They will trust other people and they will learn to trust their own body signals. Therefore, on this basis the mother should be the primarycaregiver of their infant, and the child should not experience long periods of separation anxiety.

Against the mother as the primary caregiver:

Freud’s views

However, it is important to consider the historical content of Freud’s ideas. At the time when he developed his theories women did not have the right to vote. His ideas of the different roles of the mother and the father may just reflect t he norms and values that were held by society in the early part of the 20th Century. If Freud was living today, he may portray quite a different picture of the father’s role. Freud did not say a father’s role was not important, he did recognise the importance of fathers in boy’s development and resolving the Oedipus Complex. Therefore, Freuds views on the importance of mother are outdated and lack historical validity.

For the mother as the primary caregiver:

Bowlby

Bowlby supported the psychodynamic view that early experiences are of vital importance in later development. In particular, the relationship between a mother and a child and the importance this has on emotional development. Bowlby found that early and prolonged separation between a child and its mother can have lasting emotional effects that were irreversible. Damage to this relationship would affect the development of the superego leading to a reduced sense of right and wrong. Most especially long-term separations are likely to lead to an affectionless character, someone who lacks the ability to feel normal affection, shame or sense of responsibility. Such a character is likely to become a thief and experience difficulties in forming relationships, with romantic partners and their children. He was once said ‘mothers love in infancy is just as important for a child’s mental health, as vitamins and minerals are for physical health’. Bowlby identified the central role for the mother in normal healthy emotional development. Initially his ideas were based on his training as a Freudian psychologist. Later Bowlby was influenced by evolutionary theory and proposed that the attachment to one caregiver has special importance for survival. Bowlby’s evolutionary theory ofattachment suggests that children come into the world biologically pre-programmed to form attachments with others, because this will help them to survive. A child has an innate (i.e., inborn) need to attach to one main attachment figure. This is called monotropy. This concept of monotropy suggests that there is one relationship which is more important than all the rest for their emotional development.

Against the mother as the primary caregiver:

Bowlby

However, although Bowlby used the term maternal in his maternal deprivation hypothesis, he did not mean this was exclusively the child’s mother, He wrote ‘a child should experience, intimate and continuous relationship with its mother (or permanent mother substitute) mothering is not exclusive to a child’s mother. Bowlby himself presented research that some children showed no ill effects from early separation. However, he suggested that these children who coped better may have been better attached to their mothers (or mother substitute) in the first place and thus were more resilient. Therefore, It is possible that Bowlby muddled together different experiences, including separation, dysfunctional family relationships and lack of emotional care.

Mini conclusion: Feedings argument

To conclude this argument, it raises issues of practicality when it comes to being the primary caregiver – practically the mother is the only primary caregiver that can offer the benefits of breastfeeding. This raises implications for the mothers who wish to pursue a full-time career – would advise such as that given by the NHS, hinder a mother in terms of pursuing her career, due to the felt pressure of staying home and breastfeeding? This also raises implications for the fathers who wish to be the primary caregiver who are in situations where they must be the primary caregiver. These negative implications may not be necessary when research supports how classical conditioning can lead to that same emotional bond and the importance of emotional care over food – meaning the father can indeed be the primary caregiver. This is evidenced by statistics that shows stay at home fathers increased from 1.1 million in 1989 to 2 million in 2012 – demonstrating fathers are more than adequate caregivers.

Mini conclusion: Freud’s views

To conclude this argument, although Freud is undoubtedly an influential character within psychology, his theories in relation to the psychosexual stages of development are based off subjective case studies and so lack empirical evidence. It could also be questioned whether the father can satisfy the needs during the oral stage through bottle feeding. Further to this, his theories also lack historical validity and it’s important to consider the harmful implications to mothers and fathers when applying a very dated theory to a modern society that strives towards equal opportunities regardless of gender.

Mini conclusion: Bowlby’s research