Shame and Guilt. The Birth of a Child with a Facial Malformation

Starting with a clinical analysis of the discourse of parents whose children are born with a cleft palate, and with the help of current psychodynamic theories, we have questioned the weight of shame and guilt at the center of the trauma that such a diagnosis represents. Also, we have examined the psychic work that these two feelings impose and allow. We emphasize the importance of the expression of these emotions, however difficult that may be, for development of the trauma work to begin.