An investigation into the psychological aspects of pregnancy and the puerperium using the technique of group analysis

Abstract

In this study nonpregnant women were compared with pregnant women. A set of feelings and attitudes along with questions relevant to the anatomy and physiology of parturition were the measures of comparison. The pregnant women and the nonpregnant women had almost identical feelings and attitudes. There were, however, three exceptions to this general concordance. They were: (1) the nonpregnant women's regard of pregnancy as a depressive and withdrawing experience, (2) a greater fear for the fetus among the nonpregnant women, and (3) higher scores on a pregnancy information inventory among the pregnant women.