Systematic inquiries into the origin of certain emotional disturbances of infants show that consistent maternal care is vital for the child's normal physical, psychic, and social development, indeed, for his survival. The most elementary precondition for consistent maternal care is the physical presence of the mother or her substitute.

It has, however, become increasingly apparent that children's development can also be stunted, and that they suffer damage of varying extent by the attention of, and close contact with, a mother