The Power of Mother Love: Transforming Both Mother and Child

As a father of four, student of child development, a social-worker and educator I must say that I have found few books that have been written with such tenderness on the topic of (call it) mother love, attachment-bonding, and early relationships as this. I am an admirer of Mary Ainsworth & John Bowlby's work on attachment. Much of their written material is cut and dry clinical style material. Brenda Hunter brings the message home in a way that you can relate it to your personal life. Theistic or not, there is enough material inside that will make its reading enjoyable. (Bowlby and Stanley Greenspan often make mention of evolution and/or Darwinism which I care nothing for but still found their material compelling). As a man I was reminded of the importance and need for my sensitivity toward my wife as she was pregnant, in delivery and beyond. I understood the importance of why she needed to be mothered after her pregnancy, the cause & effects of past relationships and how my support would enable her to be a sensitive parent, creating in turn (for our babies) secure attachments. She spends time toward the end of the book discussing empathy and how it's disappearance from the current generation could have profound effects on society. How can you cultivate it from birth? Brenda is a strong believer that meeting a childs NEEDS is so very important in enabling them to empathize with others. Its seems like a no brainer but damaged emotions from early relationships lead to repeated patterns toward our/their own children. Breaking the cycle is easier said than done. When I passed this book on to my female cohorts... they all cried! That wasn't my response, but it goes to show the power of Brenda Hunters message. This is truely a must read (and yes, even for men).

I received this book as a gift when my baby was two months old. The first section on Mother Love in the Mother's Life were very encouraging during the early months of motherhood. The second part of the book describes how important Mother Love is for your child. If you are thinking about staying home with your children, this book gives some amazing reasons for doing so.

Wow. The author really shows us the incredible influence a mother's love has on the life and development of her child. With tenderness, compassion for us less-than-perfect moms, yet with conviction, she speaks to all moms in all situations about recognizing the power their love and prescence have on their children's lives. You will never again take for granted the time you spend with your children, and if you "surrender to the power of mother love" in 15 or 20 years you will look back and be ever so glad you read this book.

What a wonderful, painful book. I could only read two or three pages at a time. Several times I cried. I think every mother and person who is important to the mother should read this book. I can't say enough good things about it.

Awesome book! I cherished each page because it encouraged me in the decision I have made to make raising my children the focus of my life. It is a privelege and an honor to mold a precious life. No job could give such fulfillment as the job of being #1 in the life of my child. This book reaffirms our instinct that our children need us in the big and the small events in their lives. They need us to be available and attentive to their daily emotional needs. Nothing can replace a mother's love!