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The author places maternal deprivation, attachment theory and the debate concerning child care by mothers or others, in the sociopolitical and historical context of the latter half of the twentieth century. It is suggested that post-war political pressures, motivated by economic concerns, led to selective over-simplification of complex theory and research findings. This has led to a polarization of views on solutions to the conflict between traditional child care by mothers at home and their modern wage earning outside it, and to assumptions about day care that may not be warranted.
The author briefly describes the results of an opinion survey, supported by Mary Ainsworth. Members of an international organization of infant mental health professionals were asked to give their anonymous views concerning optimal choices among high-quality kinds of care for infants from birth to three and a half years. Results suggest that professional, well-informed opinion is not being effectively communicated to public opinion and policy makers. Finally, the author expresses the hope that current research may finally free attachment theory from the concept of maternal deprivation and the backlash that has so undervalued motherhood.