PREGNANCY IS A PHASE IN THE LIFE OF A FAMILY DURING which parents and existing children prepare for the birth of a new family member and anticipate new roles and relationships. In the case of a second pregnancy, one of the key parental tasks is to prepare the firstborn for his or her new sibling.

The quality of the mother's interaction with her firstborn during the second pregnancy will depend to a significant degree upon the mother's own childhood relationships. The mother who is producing a sibling for her first child is closely attuned to her own childhood sibling experience and to the way her own parents handled such sibling issues as rivalry, competition, friendship, caring, and sharing. Even before the birth, the developing fetus affects the mother's relationship to her firstborn, which in turn colors the child's attitudes toward the sibling.

This paper focuses on pregnant mothers and female toddlers, examining how the second pregnancy challenges the mother's relationship to her firstborn toddler daughter. I shall