Mother-Child Separateness and Connectedness from Fertilization to the Creation of an Intermediate Space

This article assumes that from the moment of fertilization the relationship between the mother and the emerging fetus is not one of merger, but rather a continuous movement between the two of connectedness and separateness that exists throughout life. In order to examine the idea that the relationship is not one of merger, the article presents three stages of the child’s development in the preverbal stage. The three stages of development are the beginning of pregnancy (placenta), the birth (caesura), and the building of the potential space (third area).