Mental health articles

In the transition to parenthood, a pregnant woman must not only carry the baby
through safely, but square up to the sacrifices that motherhood demands. She must
ensure the acceptance of the child by the family, develop an attachment to the baby
within, and prepare for the birth. She must adjust to the alteration in her physical
appearance, and develop a somewhat different relationship with the father of the child
(Brockington, 1996, p. 63).
The transition to parenthood begins during the ante-natal period, as each new
pregnancy is affected by, and affects, the family’s current situation. The early
relationship with the unborn child (and even with the imagined child before
conception) is influenced by the nature of the conception, the life circumstances
of the parents and their support system, and the social and environmental world
the infant is born into.
Factors that influence and contribute to adjustment in pregnancy include:
• current level of support and/or stress, including the relationship with the
woman’s partner
• physical well-being of the mother and the unborn infant
• parental personality structure, including defence and coping mechanisms
• past experiences in family of origin
• past psychiatric history
• current or unresolved conflict, loss or trauma.
The transition to parenthood involves adjustment and change at a number of
interconnecting levels:

• physical and emotional changes
• psychological adjustment
• interpersonal changes
• social changes.
There is more information about the transition process for women than for
men. Condon and Corkindale (1997) in a series of Australian studies have found
that expectant men also go through a series of changes, but usually take longer
than their pregnant partners to focus on the reality of the coming baby. There
is little information about the transition process for the non-pregnant woman in same-sex female partnerships. Rapid changes in artificial reproductive
technology (ART) may also affect the psychological processes that go with
becoming a parent.
Adoptive parents often have a long period of loss, then waiting, before the
arrival of their child. The process is less predictable, more public and more
vulnerable to legal and practical complications. There can be a greater sense of powerlessness and uncertainty for adoptive parents, but similar processes of anticipation, fantasy and practical preparation occur, without the physical and hormonal changes that accompany pregnancy, labour and delivery.