Understanding the core issues of a woman's relationship with her mother can be beneficial to women striving for a more fulfilling life. Both men and women suffer some degree of damage in their early relationships with one or both parents, and the relationship which appears to have the strongest influence on a woman's life is often her relationship with her mother. Some factors accounting for the ongoing effects of this attachment are the mother's traditional role as primary caretaker, a strong identification between mother and daughter, and the woman's traditional posture of passivity and dependence which tends to be transmitted to her daughter. Despite the daughter's strong desire for love, sexual fulfillment, and a separate identity, she experiences intense feelings of guilt, separation anxiety, and fears of retaliation as she undergoes the process of individuation, thus moving away from her mother. Significant life events, such as marriage, pregnancy, motherhood, and career success tend to manifest regressive trends and anxiety in women which can interfere with their further development. However, understanding the dynamics of maternal ambivalence helps women to work through these developmental crises and has an ameliorative effect on their families. (CC)