On not observing the baby

Abstract

On not observing the baby' describes a one-year infant observation in which the mother seemed unable to take in the experiences of her baby. It explores the reasons for this; and what the consequences were for the baby, and for the observer. The paper also questions the mother's unconscious phantasies about the role of the observer. The main conclusions reached in the paper are that the mother's own sadistic feelings towards the baby, and overwhelming anxieties that the baby would not survive, made it impossible for her to contain the baby's own terrifying fears and anxieties. This led to the baby experiencing what Bion has described as ‘nameless dread’. The baby appeared to turn away from the frustrating object to a withdrawn and omnipotent state, attempting to protect herself by the formation of what Bick has described as a second skin. The paper suggests that the unprocessed fears of death and annihilation made it painful for the observer to become truly involved with observing the baby, and that what the mother wanted from the observer was not observation, but help to keep her baby alive.