Failure of Psychological Gestation

Certain physical events throughout the life cycle alter us in unique ways, after which we are not and cannot be the same as we were before. Such important events in a woman's life include menarche, pregnancy, and menopause. Accompanying each are psychological changes in self-image, the sense of identity, and self-esteem. We are well acquainted with the psychology of the anorexic adolescent who denies her potential for motherhood (Wilson, 1985) and with that of the menopausal woman whose potential for motherhood is lost (Deutsch, 1945; Benedek, 1950). We are not so well acquainted with the psychology of the pregnant woman.

Freud (1904, 1913, 1915, 1937) suggested that psychoanalysis should be postponed when a person may be preoccupied by a crisis, an illness, or during physiological periods of dramatic change. He noted that when the ego's whole interest is taken up by reality it withholds itself from the analytic work. Helena Deutsch was impressed by Freud's ideas long before she moved to Vienna in 1918 to begin her analysis with him. She then became a devoted analysand and a friend as well as a dedicated student (Roazen, 1985). We think it safe to assume that, insofar as Deutsch had suffered several miscarriages prior to her analysis, pregnancy was subject to some discussion if not exploration. Yet, years later