ABSTRACT
H istorically, insufficient attention has been paid to the complexity of female development. Until women began to study and write about themselves in greater numbers, we had to rely on what was often a limited and inadequate male perspective on femininity. As our understanding of female experience has expanded, pregnancy has emerged as an important focus of research and clinical attention. Here we examine this transformational event in a woman's life from a contemporary, psychoanalytically informed perspective. There is broad agreement that this is a time of intense emotional upheaval and psychological reorganization characteristic of all “normal developmental crises” (Bibring, 1959). Just as adolescence is a time of preparation for young adulthood, pregnancy can be seen as preparation for motherhood (Cohen and Slade, 2000). Contemporary forms of family creation and technological advances in fertility intervention add new dimensions to this life phase.
