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In the intense moments following the birth of a child, reality may baffle the young mother. Confronted with it, she may withdraw: she does fulfil all her duties as a mother, but she does not answer the baby’s expectations. To survive, the baby has no other option but to identify with the mother’s absence: the baby becomes that absence by displaying a form of autism. The analysis of counter-transference with the therapist, who is also faced with the absence of the child just as the child is faced with the absence of their mother, helps to understand the processes at work.