Qualitative data were obtained over 1 year through individual indepth interviews, participant observation at a weekly self-help group in prison, and a review of the women's records. The nine women in the study were convicted on charges ranging from willful cruelty and felony child endangering to second-degree murder. Seven of the nine fatally maltreated children experienced some form of separation from their mothers. Two were premature and required hospitalization, and two were cared for by their fathers during their mothers' psychiatric hospitalizations. Four of the nine children had been in foster care. Circumstances surrounding the reunitings were generally problematic. Five of the nine mothers reported their children's development to be abnormal. The women generally perceived their children's behavior to be rejecting of the mother. The fatalities culminated a recurrent cycle of abusive mother-child interaction. 52 references.