A rural Thai woman remarked incredulously to Penny van Esterick, 'How can a woman give birth and raise a child without her mother's assistance?'

In her society babies are cherished, give a lot of joy and are not physically chastised.

On the positive side of this cyclical/cultural effect of baby care is the response of a mother who told me that  that loving her own child and responding to his needs through breastfeeding and close physical contact helped heal her own childhood pain.

Babies are born able to take an equal part in their first relationships, and if they are not distorted by outside influences the relationship between a baby and her carers can help the adults to grow as well as the child.