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On their more or less regular visits at a prenatal clinic for routine checks, twenty-seven primiparæ were interviewed by a social worker. Through discussions, questionnaires, and careful observation during these visits, an impression was obtained about their current emotional states as well as their adjustment prior to pregnancy. Attention also was paid to their descriptions of physical changes and symptoms. During delivery the patients were observed by nurses and physicians, and one more interview took place a month later. The research was carried out in 1945 and 1946, i.e., during the immediate postwar period. All the women belonged to a low-income group. Many reported an increase in bad dreams and nightmares, or of previous neurotic behavior. A large number of them worried about their own or the baby's health, were preoccupied, and revealed superstitions and an easy acceptance of false beliefs. Physical sensations were reported by many. On this the authors base their conclusion that anxiety exists during pregnancy. They classified the women as stable or unstable. As far as the delivery was concerned, four criteria were applied: good or bad labor and delivery, and good or bad psychological reaction. The findings showed that stable, mature women wanted their babies from the beginning, took the delivery well psychologically, and nursed their children. A considerable number of the women who had not wanted their children at the beginning of pregnancy accepted them toward the end, and only a few continued to reject them. It was found that the physiological progression of labor and delivery was not related to the psychological state, and that no prediction as to the type of delivery could be made from the behavior during pregnancy. The authors report that stable women may show poor psychological reactions during labor and delivery, regardless of a good physiological progression, and vice versa.
This reviewer regrets that the research was limited exclusive