- Denial of pregnancy
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Denial of pregnancy (also called pregnancy denial) is a rare form of denial exhibited by women to either the fact or the implications of their own pregnancy. One study found that women who denied their pregnancy represented only 0.26% of all deliveries. [1]
Contents
Signs and symptoms
Denial of pregnancy can be divided into three distinct types[2] which are distinguished primarily by the severity of the denial experienced by the woman:
Affective Denial
This type of denial is characterized by a lack of the typical maternal bonding that is felt by most women during pregnancy. Although they are aware of their pregnancy, women with this disorder continue to behave as if they were not pregnant. They do not alter their clothes or lifestyle, nor do they make any preparations for the baby's arrival.
Pervasive Denial
In this form of pregnancy denial, the women suppresses all awareness of her pregnancy for extended periods of time, up to, including and even after childbirth. This psychological suppression is combined with a lack or lessening of physical symptoms of pregnancy. Women may, for example, experience little to no weight gain, or they may continue bleeding vaginally (similar to that experienced during menstruation) throughout the duration of their pregnancy.
Psychotic Denial
This is a form of denial that is so extreme as to fall under the category of delusion. While physical symptoms of pregnancy do usually occur they are misinterpreted in ways that are usually considered quite bizarre. The sensation of something growing inside the woman can be interpreted as cancer, or a blood clot, and fetal movements as the woman's organs coming loose inside her body.[3]
References
- ^ Friedman SH, Heneghan A, Rosenthal M "Characteristics of Women Who Deny or Conceal Pregnancy" Psychosomatics 48:117-122, March-April 2007 doi: 10.1176/appi.psy.48.2.117 http://psy.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/48/2/117#top
- ^ Miller LJ. "Denial of Pregnancy" Infanticide: psychosocial and legal perspectives on mothers who kill http://books.google.com/books?id=i4XqOuxjzvIC&lpg=PA81&ots=AFG-nKQDhz&dq=miller%20%22denial%20of%20pregnancy%22&pg=PA81#v=onepage&q=miller%20%22denial%20of%20pregnancy%22&f=false
- ^ Miller LJ. "Denial of Pregnancy" Infanticide: psychosocial and legal perspectives on mothers who kill http://books.google.com/books?id=i4XqOuxjzvIC&lpg=PA81&ots=AFG-nKQDhz&dq=miller%20%22denial%20of%20pregnancy%22&pg=PA81#v=onepage&q=miller%20%22denial%20of%20pregnancy%22&f=false
See also
Pregnancy and childbirth Planning Conception Testing Prenatal AnatomyProceduresChildbirth PreparationRolesDeliveryPostpartum Obstetric history Family planning and reproductive health Rights Education Planning Reproductive life plan · Childfree · Parenting (Childbirth, Adoption, Foster care) · Birth control · Safe sexHealth Pregnancy Medicine Disorder By country Related navboxes {{Birth control methods}} · {{Pregnancy}} · {{Sex}} · {{sexual abuse}} · {{STD/STI}} · {{Assisted reproductive technology}}
Human physiology and endocrinology of sexual reproduction Menstrual and estrous cycle Gametogenesis Spermatogenesis (spermatogonium, spermatocyte, spermatid, sperm) · Oogenesis (oogonium, oocyte, ootid, ovum) · Germ cell (gonocyte, gamete)Human sexual behavior Sexual intercourse · Masturbation · Erection · Orgasm · Ejaculation · Insemination · Fertilisation/Fertility · Implantation · Pregnancy · Postpartum period · Mechanics of sexLife span Egg (biology) Reproductive endocrinology
and infertilityBreast Categories:- Pathology of pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium
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