Using simultaneous measurements of heart rate and muscle tone during feeding of infants by their mothers, the author gives evidence to show that tension is transmitted by mother to infant. There are several revealing photographs of 'good' and tense mothers nursing and holding their babies. This work, like other recent papers on direct observation of mothers and infants, confirms psychoanalytic hypotheses regarding the extreme importance of affective experiences during the preverbal period of development. All observations established that infants are extremely sensitive to touch, holding, handling, expressions, voice, gait, and mood. Some two-year follow-ups confirmed observations the author had made during the symbiotic phases of the infants.