Abstract
This article discusses affective aspects inherent to mother-child relations that may be associated with the onset and establishment of psychosomatic gastroesophageal reflux symptoms in infants up to 1 year old. A case study of a mother-child dyad was performed by conducting semi-structured interviews, applying the 1, 2 and 7MF cards of the Thematic Apperception Test and using naturalistic observation. Instruments were analyzed qualitatively and their results were integrated and linked to psychoanalytic theoretical framework. Results pointed to a certain egoic fragility and the need for social support for the mother compatible with the puerperium. It also discusses possible ways in which the maternal psyche functions. When overloaded with anxious affections, for example, it overdetermines psychofunctional symptoms in the baby which, in turn, affects how the mother positions herself in the exercise of good maternity, marking a relational interplay.
Keywords:
maternity; psychosomatic medicine; mother-child relations; gastrointestinal system