ABSTRACT
Chapter 2, “The psychology of pregnancy”, relates research findings on the psychology of pregnancy and the impact of maternal distress on the infant’s future development. It also approaches two central topics in the field: Winnicott’s concept of “primary maternal preoccupation” and the father’s role in parenthood. They are covered from the vertices of both psychoanalytic theory and research studies. The message of this chapter is that emotional suffering of expectant parents needs to be taken more seriously, and be better organized, than today.
