Characteristics of women who deny or conceal pregnancy.
In order to assess characteristics of women with denial or concealment of pregnancy until delivery, the authors conducted a retrospective study of women with no history of prenatal care who presented to their institution for delivery or immediately postpartum. Among these women, 29% had denied pregnancy, and 9% had concealed pregnancy. Authors constructed models predicting denial or concealment of pregnancy and further elucidated subtypes of denial and concealment of pregnancy. Strikingly, psychiatric consultation was rare for women who had denied or concealed their pregnancies, and yet they would often subsequently take responsibility for their infants.
Friedman
Susan Hatters
SH
Northcoast Behavioral Healthcare-Northfield Campus, 1756 Sagamore Rd., P.O. Box 305, Northfield, OH 44067-0305, USA. Susan.Hatters-Friedman@uhhs.com
Heneghan
Amy
A
Rosenthal
Miriam
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003717:Denial, Psychological; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000523:psychology*; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors