This thesis gives an account of a qualitative research project set up to study women who were in care as children, who are now mothers of their own children. The project involved interviews with two groups of women, the first being a pilot group which enabled the research methodology to be refined and the methods for collecting data to be revised in the light of conclusions drawn from the pilot study. The research draws conclusions about the impact of the care experience on the women, as reflected in emerging themes of gender, sexuality, mothering, the professionalisation of care and the concept of reciprocity, and an analysis of the concept of identity within these contexts. The findings were analysed using a variety of conceptual and theoretical frameworks, including feminist perspectives and post-modern thinking, particularly the work of Foucault. The work of this project was located within an ethical and methodological framework which gives a priori importance and value to the knowledge and experiences of the women who participated and attempted to conform to the anti-oppressive values of social work as a profession and an academic discipline. The women's account are used to explore child care practice in social work, within the specific historical, social and political context of that point in time and to contribute to the development of theory and knowledge in relevant areas. The adequacy of existing theories of research and of social work are also reviewed, using the findings from the research.