Pregnancy Psychology: 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 puerperium, as well as the psycho-emotional development of the baby.

The Psychology of Pregnancy is interested in the mother-baby relationship, understanding it as a unit where the mental health of the mother is closely related to the health of the baby. Therefore, the aim is 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 human birth is probably much more interesting and contains more momentous events than the following 70 years. Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1840.

• Related article: "Anxiety during pregnancy: causes, symptoms and how to manage it"

The Importance of Pregnancy Psychology

From physical conception, and even before

When the future baby is conceived in the minds of her parents, a process of transformation of her psyche begins, fundamentally of women, which will accelerate during pregnancy, and will consolidate 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 one's childhood, whose memories come up easily.

So do injuries from the past, making pregnancy a privileged time for work psychotherapeutic, since those wounds, which have sometimes weighed down life for years, can heal much more quickly.

It is a period of growing sensitivity, and of great vulnerability, which is why they are of vital importance care provided by the close environment, the partner and the family, as well as by the professionals of the health system.

Emotional ambivalence

During pregnancy they are frequent, and totally normal, occasional depressive feelings. There is usually emotional ambivalence, that is, the coexistence of alternate moments of great joy and happy expectation, with others of fears and doubts about whether You have made the right decision, whether it is a good time to interrupt your career, or whether you will be able to take responsibility for the maternity.

Although these mixed feelings are normal, pay special attention to your mood during pregnancy. and in the face of persistent negative emotions seek psychological help.

Psychological disorders in 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 from some type of depressive symptom.

Although postpartum depression is better known, about half postpartum depressions start during pregnancy. That is why taking care of the mental health of women during this period is highly recommended also from the point of view of the prevention of 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 down, 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 her brain produced by the action of hormonesIt is not surprising that a real emotional tsunami occurs in the mind of the pregnant woman.

For starters, the brain during pregnancy has been found to shrink by up to 7%. Does that mean that we lose cognitive abilities during pregnancy? If so, nature would be behaving quite abnormally.

Conversely, what happens is an intense brain restructuring, similar to the one that takes place 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 the Theory of mind, which is the ability to understand what the other feels.

The change is so important that 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 corresponds each picture. The changes are clear and obvious, and can be seen with the naked eye.

Some pregnant women perceive a decrease in memory and the ability to concentrate and attention. However, studies seem to indicate that what occurs rather is a change in attention focus. The baby and her care, since she is in the womb, monopolize the attention of the woman, who during this period she can forget more frequently, for example, where she has left the keys.

Apparently, not only is there not a cognitive deficit, but it is known that interaction with the baby is able to create 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 to the development of her identity as a mother, it is vitally important to emphasize emotional care during the pregnancy. Without forgetting that the mother's well-being is also a source of health, present and future, for her child.

To learn more...

In Advance Psychologists a workshop is given on Pregnancy Psychology, 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/

• Article written by Sandra del Bosque Andrés, psychologist of Advance Psychologists

Author: Sandra del Bosque Andrés.

Bibliographic references:

• Hoekzema, E.; Barba-Müller, E., Pozzobon, C.; Picado, M., Lucco, F., García-García, D., Soliva, J.C.; Tobeña, A.; Desco, M.; Crone, E.A., Ballesteros, A., Carmona, S., Vilarroya, O. (2016). "Pregnancy leads to long-lasting changes in human brain structure." Nature Rev. Neuropscience.
• Joan Raphael-Leff. (2010). Healthy Maternal Ambivalence. Studies in the Maternal 2 (1).