31

The birth of a child reactivates the infantile self in the parents. For early childhood professionals, welcoming the baby is as important as welcoming the parents. The work at the mother-baby health care service is centered on building the earliest bonds. Fathers are also involved in this process when they are available. The welcoming of babies in a preventive family daycare center is similar to family placement. Nonetheless, beyond the double attachment, the establishment of which is necessary for the baby’s well-being (with parent/family helper), work with the parents is carried out at quite close range. The health care teams may encounter difficulties because of strong countertransferential movements. The situation presented concerns the treatment of a family over a three-year period: from the baby’s birth through the first seven months of life in a joint mother/baby hospital service, and over the next 29 months in a preventive family daycare center. The text centers on the phenomena of cleaving and the analysis of countertransference.