The author's presentation, based on her book The Enigma of Desire, reexamines Winnicott's “Fear of Breakdown” in the context of what she terms breaks in unity, the undertheorized realm of the maternal body, and the complex relationship between birth and loss. She proposes that an inherent part of the process of motherhood includes an existential break: a break of physical and emotional boundaries, a break of meaning, a break of continuity, and therefore a break of the unity of the self. These processes are integral but often unspoken dimensions of childbirth and motherhood. Exploring the realm of the maternal body, she considers the nature of development and psychopathology as they relate to early maternal development, infant-mother boundaries, and unconscious communication.