The American Journal of Psychoanalysis, Vol. 64, No. 2, June 2004 ( 2004) MOTHERING IN A FOREIGN LAND Pratyusha Tummala-Narra Abstract: The process of becoming a mother in an adopted land presents unique challenges in identity formation of immigrant mothers. The bidirectional influence of the mother’s own transformation and that of the larger family system has significant implications for child devel- opment. This article addresses the ways in which cultural displacement has an impact on the dilemmas of motherhood, as evident in adaptation to the immigration process, changing conceptions of gender roles and attachment, bicultural conflicts, and changing family structure and social network. Mothers’ attempts to integrate the old and the new cultural frameworks are explored, particularly in the context of psychotherapy. Clinical cases are discussed to illustrate the intrapsychic and interpersonal conflicts faced by immigrant mothers. KEY WORDS: mothers; immigration; identity; cultural displacement; psychoanalysis. Mothering across cultures poses important questions concerning life tran- sitions and identity development for many women and their children. Al- though the psychoanalytic literature has emphasized the role of mothers in child development, particularly in early childhood, the exploration of mothers’ intrapsychic world as impacted by sociocultural context has been limited. In particular, the area of maternal depression and psychopathology and its impact on child development has received more attention than the nonpathological aspects of mothers’ development (Fonagy, 2001). This arti- cle addresses, from the perspective of an immigrant mother and psycho- therapist, the interaction of intrapsychic and sociocultural issues pertinent to the lives of immigrant and first- and second-generation mothers living in the United States. I use both my clinical observations with patients and my informal discussions with immigrant and second-generation mothers to illustrate some of the unique aspects of their mothering experiences. The process of becoming a mother in an adopted land presents specific challenges in identity formation of immigrant mothers. The bidirectional influence of the mother’s own transformation and that of the larger family system has significant implications for child development. Cultural dis- placement has an impact on the dilemmas of motherhood, as evident in Address correspondence to Pratyusha Tummala-Narra, Ph.D., Georgetown University Hospi- tal, 5th Floor Kober-Cogan Building, 3800 Reservoir Road, NW, Washington, DC 20007; e- mail: ptummala@hms.harvard.edu. 167 0002-9548/04/0600-0167/1  2004 Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis