ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the sorts of states of mind that occur typically in each stage of pregnancy and the postnatal phase. The psychological work that takes place is not necessarily conscious, although it is well known that during pregnancy there is a tendency for women to become more introspective. As with pregnancy, there are many rituals surrounding the care of babies, practices concerning feeding, winding, and wrapping, or about the mother's diet. These again are meant to keep evil forces at bay and are one way of dealing with the anxieties concerning the very real physical and mental fragility of the infant. Women frequently expect to have the same sort of childbirth and pregnancy experience as their own mother had. The fear of damage to herself or the baby can stem from a woman's feelings about childbirth as the first separation of mother and baby, a symbol for all future separations.
