The Psychological Processes of Childbearing

Childbearing seems eternal, primordial and universal. Yet human reproduction in the 21st century is in a state of flux. This accessible book highlights dramatic changes that have occurred over the last decades, focusing on both individual and cross-cultural diversity across the now elongated childbearing cycle and the uniqueness of desire and em

Raphael-Leff, Joan

Introduction -- Psychosocial Process of Childbearing Revisited -- Preface -- Foreword -- Pregnancy Expectation -- The wish for a baby: psychosocial and cultural factors -- Considering parenthood: cultural, sexual and ethnic variations -- Prolonged infertility: psychodynamics and psychological impact of diagnosis and treatment -- Pregnancy -- Womb and world: the mother-to-be - common experience and cultural variations -- Maturational phases -- Facilitators, Regulators and Reciprocators: different approaches to pregnancy -- Psychotherapy during pregnancy -- The fetus - sociocultural beliefs, maternal fantasies and fetal abilities -- The professional as mediator between mother and fetus: antenatal care and assessment -- The Expectant Partner -- The father-to-be -- Participators and Renouncers and expectant fathers at risk -- Lesbian partners -- Pregnancy as Transition to Parenthood -- Anticipating parenthood: in the West and in other cultures -- Readjusting family relationships -- Re-evaluation of unconscious contracts and therapeutic opportunities -- Health-care professionals as guides in the transition to motherhood -- Experiences of Labour and Birth -- Anticipating Childbirth -- The birthplace and birth process -- Uncomplicated spontaneous labour -- Managed childbirth -- Coping with the Outcome -- The newborn: parental responses and neonatal sensory and cognitive abilities -- Early days: getting acquainted - unconscious identifications and gender differences -- Postpartum professional care -- First six weeks: differing patterns of maternal and paternal adjustment -- First six weeks: dynamics between the parents -- Siblings -- Adolescent parents -- Adoption -- Complications -- Interrupted pregnancies: abortions -- Prebirth loss and pregnancy complications -- Disruptions around birth: prematurity and illness, stillbirth and perinatal loss -- Postnatal complications: congenital abnormalities and critical conditions in infancy -- Postnatal psychological complications -- Interaction of Psychological and Social Factors Influencing Breast Feeding -- Facilitators & Regulators Questionnaire (FRQ) -- PPQ -Placental Paradigm Questionnaire -- Pregnancy and Early Motherhood