[Effect of psychological factors in pregnancy on the development of parent-child relations. 2. Transition from prenatal to postnatal phase].
OBJECTIVE
In a longitudinal prospective study on 38 couples and their first child, we examined the influence of prenatally assessed psychological factors of the parents on somatic and psychic aspects of birth, the quality of the newly established parent-child relationship and the early development of the baby.


METHODS
Half-standardized psychoanalytic interviews with the couple (pre- and postnatally conducted, video-recorded), the Giessen test for couples, an evaluation of the parents' birth narratives and a parent questionnaire about functional symptoms of the baby were used.


RESULTS
We found a high continuity between the pre- and the postnatal measurements of the partnership and the emotional experiences of the parents. Somatic complications of the birth event were not correlated with prenatally assessed psychological factors. But there exists a highly significant correlation between the mental representations and the relationships of the parents and the emotional experiences of birth, the early relationship between the parents and their baby and manifestations of functional disorders of the newborn.


CONCLUSIONS
Relevant psychological and psychosocial aspects should be included in the medical care of pregnant women. One should listen to the imaginations and expectations of the parents about the future parentship, including ambivalent feelings. The father should also be seen for psychological assessment.
von Klitzing
K
K
Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrische Universitätsklinik und -poliklinik Basel, Schweiz.
Amsler
F
F
Schleske
G
G
Simoni
H
H
Bürgin
D
D
D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008393:Marriage / Q000523:psychology; D009769:Object Attachment; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010552:Personality Assessment; D049590:Postpartum Period / Q000523:psychology*; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000523:psychology*; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011574:Psychoanalytic Theory