The psychological gestation of motherhood

Abstract

Pregnancy and childbirth are a time of heightened emotional sensitivity for most women (Gavin et al., 2005). A number of studies show more psychiatric admissions around the childbearing years than at any other time in the female life cycle (Munk-Olsen, Laursen, Pedersen, Mors, & Mortensen, 2006; O'Hara & Stuart, 1999). Along with the physiological changes that occur during pregnancy, there also comes a period of psychological gestation as women begin to embrace the idea that their lives will be forever changed by the physically and emotionally demanding role requirements of motherhood.