In this paper the author attempts to explore changes in fatherhood both by virtue of social alterations and on account of our increased understanding of early pre-oedipal vicissitudes. The latter have mainly been dealt from the perspective of the mother-infant dyadic attachment and separation individuation processes. The increasing role of "maternal" fathers call for more attention to early dyadic father-child positive and negative pre-oedipal vicissitudes. A detailed clinical case attempts to explore both the intrapsychic impact of fathering in men, especially in the case of the birth of a boy infant and the transgenerational impact of conflictual non resolved pre-oedipal or oedipal crossroads.
Keywords: Pre-oedipal phase, dyadic phase, identification, idealization, Super-ego, regression, splitting