Emergence and Resolution of Ambivalence in Expectant Mothers

This paper discusses the unique aberrational fantasies of pregnant women with a previous history of psychiatric disturbance. A 22-year-old primigravida with a prior history of schizoaffective disorder disclosed several dreams to her therapist that revealed unconscious ambivalent and destructive impulses toward her unborn infant. Appropriate psychotherapeutic techniques for treating such disclosures are offered. Specific interventions for exploring and predicting how such new mothers with previous psychiatric histories will interact with their infants after birth are suggested. Possibilities for prevention of abusive behavior are implied.