Katherine Krpan of University of Toronto, whose surname appears to contain at least 1 too few vowels, has been doing some interesting research into how a mothers age affects her interaction with her baby. It appears that younger mothers, whilst OK with the practical component of looking after a baby, show their child much less affection than do older women. (see here)

Lisa E. Crandell of University College London adds to the picture by observing that mothers who felt secure were more loving to their children than mothers who felt insecure. Additionally children of secure mothers were more compliant than children of insecure mothers. One could hypothesise this was because of the better quality of caregiving that they were receiving. (see here)