The article presents a review of psychological studies of the self-consciousness of mothers raising children with mental development disorders. The relevance of the topic is described, in particular, the lack of research attention to psychological changes in mothers who raise children with mental development disorders: changes in self-perception, neoplasms of the structure of self-consciousness, specific emotional reactions that arise in response to a traumatic situation — the birth of a child with special needs. Studies of families related to the study of the family structure of a mentally ill relative are presented. The concept of "reference relative" is revealed. Approaches to the definition of self-consciousness are analyzed. A description of the concept of mother's self-consciousness: features and structure is given. Specific psychological formations that arose as a result of the birth of a child, as well as forms that are different from them, caused by the birth of a "special" child, are described. A description of the features of the emotional sphere of mothers raising children with deviations in mental development (self-blame, shame, the phenomenon of "emotional burnout of the mother") is given. Various attitudes of parents of children with developmental disorders are considered. The phenomenon of mother's self-stigmatization is revealed, i.e. the social stigma of the child internalized by the mother and its consequences. Domestic and foreign studies of self-stigmatization are highlighted. The forms of self-stigmatization, identified on the basis of literary analysis, are described. Descriptive, differential-psychological and clinical-psychological approaches to the study of mothers raising children with mental development disorders are highlighted.