Prenatal Mental Representations in Italian First-Time Mothers Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Study with Interviews on Maternal Representations During Pregnancy

IntroductionPsychosocial risks increase the levels of not-integrated/ambivalent and restricted/disengaged representations during pregnancy, but no study has specifically analysed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal representation styles.Objectives(1) to compare maternal representation styles in primiparous women who became pregnant before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and (2) to analyse the content of representation styles during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsA total of 37 Italian pregnant women were recruited from 2019 to 2021. The sample was divided into two groups: the pre-COVID-19 group (22 women, mean age = 33.14 years; SD = 3.78) and the COVID-19 group (15 women, mean age = 35.9 years; SD = 4.6). Interviews on maternal representations during pregnancy were administered and analysed for style and content. Results: Women during the COVID-19 pandemic reported more restricted/disengaged and less integrated/balanced representation styles than women pre-COVID-19. Content analysis showed that the COVID-19 pandemic led women to focus more on concrete aspects of pregnancy in lieu of emotional aspects, thus leading them to develop more restricted/disengaged representation styles. Conclusions for practiceIn future pandemics pregnant women should be supported in focusing their attention to emotions, sensations and fantasies about themselves as mothers and their children

Cancer and Pregnancy: becoming parents after an oncological diagnosis in women

The issue of cancer and pregnancy will be increasingly topical giving the rising trend of women diagnosed with cancer during childbearing period. Although oncological progress has allowed women who receive cancer diagnosis before or during pregnancy to satisfy their desire for maternity and to carry on gestation, there is still few awareness. In this chapter we present our research project and results carry out to date. The aim is to better understand challenges of women who experience pregnancy after or during cancer compared with non-oncological sample. We focus on the impact of cancer in the construction of prenatal attachment and related psychological aspects. We study resilience considered as a protective factor in the construction of mother-fetus relationship. Then, we present the results of a qualitative study conducted in order to have a deeper understanding of the psychological dynamics that help women with cancer diagnosis to develop their maternal identity. We explore the topic of breastfeeding in women with cancer history, investigating how the feeding method is related to mother’s mood states. Finally, we present the results about the cortisol concentration measurement during pregnancy. Our results show how it is very important to give women with oncological diagnosis the adequate support during puerperium