Pregnancy denial and early infant development: a case-control observational prospective study

Abstract

Background The denial of pregnancy is the non-recognition of the state of the current pregnancy by a pregnant woman. It lasts for a few months or for the whole pregnancy, with generally few physical transformations. In this study, we will consider the denial of pregnancy as a late declaration of pregnancy (beyond 20 weeks of gestation) as well as a lack of objective perceptions of this pregnancy. The main objective of this study is to explore the relationship between pregnancy denial and the development of the infant (attachment pattern of the infant, early interactions of mother-infant dyads, and early development of the infant). Methods The design is a case-control prospective study, which will compare two groups of mother-infant dyads: a “case” group with maternal denials of pregnancy and a “control” group without denials of pregnancy. A total of 140 dyads (mother + infant) will be included in this study (70 cases and 70 controls) and followed for 18 months. The setting is a national recruitment setting with 10 centers distributed all over France. The follow-up of the “cases” and the “controls” will be identical and will occur over 5 visits. It will include measures of the infant attachment pattern, the quality of early mother-infant interaction and infant development. Discussion This study aims to examine the pathogenesis of pregnancy denial as well as its consequences on early infant development and early mother-infant interaction. Trial registration Clinical Trial Number: NCT02867579 on the date of 16 August 2016 (retrospectively registered).

Experiences and perspectives of women who have committed neonaticide, infanticide and filicide: A systematic review and qualitative evidence synthesis

“…Although there is no official consensus on definitions of pregnancy denial, several authors have attempted to differentiate the concepts of pregnancy denial from concealment (Auer et al, 2019;Murphy Tighe & Lalor, 2016). While denial includes ignorance of a pregnancy that is not accepted as real, concealment is described as an active process of keeping the pregnancy secret by wearing loose clothes or avoiding social interaction that can be driven by fear of others (Murphy Tighe & Lalor, 2016).…”

“…Women involved in cases of neonaticide and infanticide described the struggle of “not being ready to be a mother” along with their difficulty in coming to terms with the reality of their pregnancies and their subsequent response of denial and/or dissociation. Although there is no official consensus on definitions of pregnancy denial, several authors have attempted to differentiate the concepts of pregnancy denial from concealment (Auer et al, 2019 ; Murphy Tighe & Lalor, 2016 ). While denial includes ignorance of a pregnancy that is not accepted as real, concealment is described as an active process of keeping the pregnancy secret by wearing loose clothes or avoiding social interaction that can be driven by fear of others (Murphy Tighe & Lalor, 2016 ).…”

The role of community health workers in influencing social connectedness using the household model: a qualitative case study from Malawi

“…CHWs and adolescent pregnant women participants shared that CHWs have had little effect on the stigma and social isolation of pregnant adolescent women in the Neno district. Adolescent women are subject to rejection with pregnancy due to assumptions of promiscuity and lack of abstinence on the girl’s part [ 53 , 54 ]. As a result, the young woman’s family is often shamed and discriminated against in the community, especially if the pregnancy leads to the girl dropping out of school or getting married before 18 years old [ 55 ].…”

Pregnancy denial: a complex symptom with life context as a trigger? A prospective case–control study*

“…This study was based on data from a national multicentre prospective case-control study with 13 French university maternity wards (Antony Ile-de-France, Besanc ßon, Bordeaux, Nancy, Paris Bichat, Paris La Piti e Salpêtri ere, Reims, Strasbourg, Toulouse, Amiens, Troyes, Aubagne, and Lille) entitled 'Attachment and Pregnancy Denial' conducted from 2013 to 2019. 18 The study compared two groups of 71 mother-infant dyads each: a 'case' group with maternal pregnancy denials and a 'control' group without pregnancy denials. The study was registered in the European registry (EudraCT 2011-A01498-33) and in clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02867579).…”

“…To further improve our knowledge of pregnancy denial, we conducted a case–control prospective study with 142 French mother–infant dyads (71 women having experienced pregnancy denial and 71 having not), from 2013 to 2019. 18 In this article, we analysed collected socio‐demographic, medical and psychiatric data. Our objective was to identify risk factors for a woman to experience pregnancy denial.…”