Internal Image of Pregnancy in Women with Somatic Complications and Possible Miscarriage

Abstract

The article describes some characteristics of the internal image of pregnancy in women with a possible miscarriage during a complicated pregnancy. The study involved 230 women from three groups: those with an extragenital pathology, those with an HIV infection, and those with an IVF pregnancy. The experiment employed the following psychological methods: The Beck Depression Inventory; Self-Assessment of Psychological States (H. Aysenk); The Questionnaire of reproductive motives "My Pregnancy" (O. Magdenko); The Semantic Differential Scale (C. Osgud), which reveals the attitude of women towards such concepts as "Me myself", "My Pregnancy", "My Child", "My Future"; the "Quality of Life" Questionnaire (SF-26). The authors indentified the common and specific characteristics of the internal image of pregnancy for each group. On the level of bodily experience, all the women experienced a sense of restrictions during physical exercise and social contacts. For the extragenital pathology group, the pro-life choice was connected with achieving a new social status. The HIV group revealed a depressive state related to pregnancy. For the IVF group, pregnancy was connected with unfulfilled needs: in love, care, attention, acceptance, desire to change their lives, overcome past failures, etc. The results can be used in psychological practice in antenatal clinics, maternity homes, centers of reproductive technologies, and AIDS prevention and treatment centers.