What is perinatal therapy?

Psychology, in general, is in charge in its applied variant of offering professional advice to individuals, couples, families and organizations intervening in any psychological alteration that people may present in the various periods of their development, from infancy to adulthood, or to support people with needs associated with personal development and/or professional. Now, within this discipline there are several sub-branches oriented to more specific fields of intervention.

Perinatal therapy is the part of applied psychology that is responsible for studying and meeting the psychological needs of parents from before conception through the delivery of the baby and the immediately subsequent stages of parenthood and maternity. If you want to know more, keep reading. Here we will explain what is perinatal therapy and the problems it addresses.

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What are the main functions of perinatal psychology?

Perinatal psychology professionals are experts in identifying, diagnosing and intervening in a wide variety of problems and alterations psychological both in the mother who decides to get pregnant and in the father, who also usually present symptoms of all kinds in many occasions.

Besides that, perinatal intervention addresses both emotional and cognitive or behavioral aspectsIn short, any element that can interfere with the normal daily life of the parents and their mental health.

Although for most couples becoming parents is a very normal process full of happiness, some often have problems that should be treated by a specialist.

In what problems does it intervene?

Below we summarize the main functions performed by a perinatal psychology professional.

1. abortion cases

Miscarriage is one of the most traumatic experiences that parents who want to get pregnant can go through, even more so if the pregnancy is complicated or has been related to psychological problems of all kinds.

Depending on the type of abortion, one particular therapy modality or another must be performed, which means that the intervention in a couple that loses a baby within a few weeks will be different from that of an abortion in the last few weeks or in the birth.

The perinatal psychology professional must, in each case, adapt her intervention to the needs of the couple and satisfy her needs at all times.

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2. fertility problems

Intervention in fertility problems is another of the functions that perinatal psychology is responsible for, a problem that affects millions of people around the world and that has a great impact on the psychological health of those who want to be fathers and mothers, affecting both their personal projects and their self-esteem, in many cases.

Although each couple can experience it differently, fertility problems in couples often cause the appearance of cases of anxiety, stress, low self-esteem, feelings of guilt, arguments in the couple and feeling of loss or lack of direction when perceiving a future uncertain.

The therapist's job in these cases is to psychologically assist each member of the couple who is suffering or both of them. coordinated way and provide them with tools to overcome their emotional problems and to avoid arguments and even a breakup.

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3. changes during pregnancy

Pregnancy is a stage of physiological and biological changes that affect women, although some symptoms may also occur in the father.

The main sources of emotional distress during pregnancy for women have to do with changes that are experienced during the process and in men are usually mostly emotional or psychological.

Some of the symptoms that women experience related to emotional distress more frequent are the non-acceptance of one's own body or the feeling of not recognizing the changing body as own.

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4. Problems related to childbirth (and the expectations of childbirth)

For most parents, the time of future childbirth generates a lot of fears, insecurities and fears of all kinds, mainly because of the fear that something will go wrong or that the birth will not go as expected.

This type of fear occurs in both the mother and the father and should be treated in therapy by a perinatal psychology professional who provides answers to all the questions that the parents.

Besides that, Another job is to reassure both fathers and mothers at all times and get them to overcome all their fears related to childbirth.

• Related article: "Parturiphobia (childbirth phobia): symptoms, causes and treatment"

5. Breastfeeding problems

Breastfeeding is another of the fundamental issues during motherhood and that generates greater doubts, fears and insecurities in new parents.

It is common for both mothers and fathers to be lost in the face of such an important issue as breastfeeding and the correct development of the newborn, that is why they need someone to provide them with psychological support and provide them with all the information they need about this aspect of pregnancy and the psychological management of this experience.

This is the work of perinatal psychology professionals, expert therapists in solving any problem or doubt about breastfeeding.

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6. Relationship with the baby and attachments

Although the relationship with the baby and her parents begins with its gestation, it is of great importance for any parent. develop a healthy relationship and proper attachment with the newborn.

Attachment is established in the first weeks after the birth of the baby and both fathers and mothers have a great diversity of doubts and fears regarding this period, which will be resolved and mitigated by expert psychologists in perinatal therapy.

Are you looking for professional psychological support?

If you want to have professional psychological support in perinatal psychology or in another field of applied psychology, get in touch with us.

In Advance Psychologists we have more than two decades of experience and serve people of all ages.