Psychology Of Pregnancy: This Is How The Pregnant Woman’s Mind Changes
The branch of psychology that deals with pregnancy is Pregnancy Psychology, which seeks to promote the well-being of the mother during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period, as well as the psycho-emotional development of the baby.
Pregnancy Psychology is interested in the mother-baby relationship, understanding it as a unit where the mother’s mental health is closely related to the baby’s health. It seeks, therefore, to promote the well-being of the mother-baby dyad, which also includes the father, especially in his role of emotional support for the mother. Let’s see what this interesting branch of psychology consists of and what it studies.
The history of the nine months before the birth of humans is probably much more interesting and contains more momentous events than the 70 years that followed.. Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1840.
From physical conception, and even before when the future baby is conceived in the minds of its parents, a process of transformation of its psyche begins, fundamentally of the woman, which will accelerate during pregnancy, and will be consolidated during the months and years that follow the birth .
Pregnancy is conceived as a moment of crisis from which the pregnant woman will develop a new identity: she will become a mother. During this period it is common to review her own childhood, memories of which emerge easily.
So do wounds from the past, making pregnancy a privileged moment for psychotherapeutic work, since these wounds, which have sometimes burdened life for years, can heal much more quickly.
It is a period of growing sensitivity and great vulnerability, which is why they are of vital importance. the care provided by the close environment, the couple and the family as well as by health system professionals.
emotional ambivalence
During pregnancy they are frequent, and totally normal, occasional depressive feelings. There is usually emotional ambivalence, that is, the coexistence of alternating moments of great joy and happy expectation, with others of fear and doubt about whether the correct decision has been made, whether it is a good time to interrupt one’s professional career, or whether if you will be able to assume the responsibility of motherhood.
Although these ambivalent feelings are normal, it is worth paying special attention to your mood during pregnancy, and when faced with persistent negative emotions, seek psychological help.
Psychological alterations during pregnancy
Various studies show a high prevalence of depressive episodes during pregnancy. Some speak of around 10%, while others find that up to 40% of pregnant women suffer some type of depressive symptoms.
Although postpartum depression is better known, About half of postpartum depression begins during pregnancy. That is why taking care of a woman’s mental health during this period is also highly recommended from the point of view of preventing future disorders, as it has a positive effect on the well-being of the mother-baby dyad during the first months.
These four questions can serve as a first guide to detect possible difficulties. Although it must be taken into account that each case is unique and full of nuances, if you answer positively to any of them, it would be advisable to delve deeper into the psychological evaluation of your case:
• Have you frequently felt low in spirit, depressed or hopeless? • Have you often felt that you have lost interest and pleasure in doing things ? • Have you often felt nervous, anxious, or overwhelmed? • Have you felt unable to control or stop your worries ?
Neuroscience of pregnancy
If we take into account the discoveries of neuroscience, and the profound transformation process of your brain produced by the action of hormones it is not surprising that a true emotional tsunami occurs in the mind of the pregnant woman.
To begin with, it has been found that the brain during pregnancy reduces its volume by up to 7%. Does this mean that we lose cognitive abilities during pregnancy? If this were the case, nature would be behaving quite anomalously.
On the contrary, what happens is an intense brain restructuring, similar to that which occurs during puberty. In fact, during adolescence and pregnancy, a similar synaptic pruning occurs, associated with the intense life crisis and the change of identity that both moments of life entail.
It has been shown to increase the size of the pineal gland and gray matter in brain areas related to maternal behaviors. That is, with empathy and theory of mind, which is the ability to understand what others feel.
The change is so important that by comparing the image of the brain of a woman who is pregnant with that of another woman who is not, an expert in the field can say with 100% certainty to which of the two each image corresponds. The changes are clear and evident, and can be seen with the naked eye.
Some pregnant women They perceive a decrease in memory and the ability to concentrate and pay attention. However, studies seem to indicate that what occurs is rather a change in the attentional focus. The baby and its care, since it is in the womb, monopolize the woman’s attention, and during this period she may forget more frequently, for example, where she has left the keys.
Apparently, not only is there no cognitive deficit, but it is known that Interaction with the baby is capable of creating new neurons in the mother’s brain. Thus, given the intense nature of the changes produced in the brain and psyche of the pregnant woman, which will lead to the development of her identity as a mother, it is vitally important to emphasize emotional care during pregnancy. Without forgetting that the mother’s well-being is also a source of health, present and future, for her child.
To learn more…
At Avance Psicologías a workshop on the Psychology of Pregnancy is taught, aimed at pregnant women who want to delve deeper into this topic, to live your pregnancy and face childbirth in a positive way. If you are interested you can register at the following link: https://www.avancepsicologos.com/taller-de-psicologia-del-embarazo/
