Denial of pregnancy: a psychodynamic paradigm

Ethical Dilemmas and Countertransference in Legally Mandated Reporting of Fatal Child Neglect

In the fall of 2019, a much-publicized court case brought to national attention the issues of patient-doctor confidentiality when it comes to reporting the deaths of newborns in the United States. It is unclear whether the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade will lead to more cases like this. This article discusses issues of countertransference, as well as the ethical and legal implications were it to be a psychiatrist, in active treatment of such a patient, who would be required to make such a report. More specifically, as in the publicized court case, the patient could be a minor at the time, receiving treatment from a child psychiatrist. The implications of such a case include how countertransference affects the perception of fatal child neglect compared to intentional neonaticide; the ethical dilemma of generating a mandated report with the goal of child safety when such a report could lead to real legal consequences for a minor child; and considerations regarding continued treatment of a patient after such a report is made. It is likely that countertransference, shaped by attitudes toward mothers and idealized views on mothering, may play a large role in all these circumstances.

[Mother brain: Bayesian theory of maternal interoception during pregnancy and postpartum]

The perinatal period, including pregnancy and postpartum, causes major morphological, endocrinal, and thermal transitions in women. As the fetus grows, abdominal muscle fibers stretch, internal organs such as the bladder or colon move, and the uterine anatomy changes. Many of these changes involve interoception, the perception of internal body signals such as muscle and visceral sensations. Despite the importance of these interoceptive signals, few studies have explored perinatal interoception. We propose an innovative theory of maternal interoception based on recent findings in neuroscience. We show that interoceptive signals processing during pregnancy is crucial for understanding perinatal phenomenology and psychopathology, such as maternal perception of fetal movements, maternal-infant bonding, denial of pregnancy, phantom fetal movements after childbirth, pseudocyesis or even puerperal delusion. Knowing the importance of these interoceptive mechanisms, clinicians in obstetrics, gynecology and mental health should be particularly vigilant to maternal interoception during the perinatal period.

A case report involving the experience of pervasive pregnancy denial: detailed observation of the first 12 postpartum weeks

BACKGROUND

Pervasive pregnancy denial is a rare condition associated with distress and unassisted delivery.

CASE PRESENTATION

The case involves a 38-year-old woman (NN), with two older children (ages 8 and 11), who was unaware, until delivery, that she had been pregnant. The case is discussed in the context of a 12-week observation of postpartum mood, stress, and mother-child attachment. NN and other 558 non-depressed women (mean age 32.41 years) were selected from the pool of participants in the RIPOD (risk of postpartum depression) study. All participants were recruited within 1-6 days of delivery. In addition to surveying depressed mood at childbirth, remote assessments of mood, mother-child attachment, and perceived stress were conducted at 3, 6, 9, and 12 weeks postpartum. Every other day, the participants also reported their current perceived stress levels based on a scale from 1 (low) to 10 (high). During the entire period of postpartum observation, NN reported no symptoms on the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale, similar to only 1.6% of the sample, no stress as 0.7% of the sample, and above-average mother-infant bonding akin to only 4.6% of the sample. Her daily stress levels showed no disturbance, which was the case for only 3.32% of the total sample. On the day of delivery, NN reported a stress level of 1 (the minimum possible level), which was reported by only 4.2% of the total sample. However, NN reported the experience of delivery to be traumatic given that the child had fallen to the floor.

CONCLUSION

The experience of a denied pregnancy did not appear to disturb NN at any time point, not even on the day of delivery. Compared to NN, the other non-depressed participants reported wide fluctuations in stress levels during the observation period. NN did not report any risk factors for denied pregnancy. Thus, she belonged neither to any group of typical pregnancy deniers, as reported in the literature, nor to a typical postpartum group. We postulate, therefore, that the extent to which pregnancy denial can be deemed a normal variation, unrelated to a psychological or physiological condition, depends largely on personal traits.

A qualitative analysis of negative feelings among incarcerated filicide mothers in Rwanda

BACKGROUND

Most of the research on filicide mothers suggests that they experience negative feelings before they kill their child. However, little is known about whether these negative feelings can be expressed after one-year post-offense among incarcerated filicide mothers with no history of psychiatric problems. In this study, we aimed to conduct a qualitative analysis to (a) understand negative feelings evolving from negative emotions such as anger, guilt, shame, depression, and anxiety among filicide mothers incarcerated in Nyarugenge Prison in Rwanda, (b) identify the impact of experienced negative feelings on their personal wellbeing, and (c) explore their coping strategies.

METHODS

This study adopted a phenomenology research design and face-to-face in-depth interviews to explore the problem among twenty filicide mothers selected from Nyarugenge prison. Data were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, organized, and analysed by using ATLAS.ti 8 Windows.

RESULTS

Anxious and depressed participants experienced both physical and emotional negative feelings. Social withdrawal and cognitive problems were expressed by anxious participants, while avoidance behaviours were particularly experienced by depressed participants. Intolerance created anger, while self-blame, regret, and acute stress created guilt. In addition, avoidance behaviours and poor self-judgment emerged from shame. Participants felt disconnected from their community and worried about a variety of issues because of their negative feelings. To cope with negative feelings, participants reported that they used abnormal defense, surrender and support from community resources.

DISCUSSION

Our findings highlight the overall negative feelings of incarcerated filicide mothers, which can guide mental health professionals and different stakeholders to respond with appropriate interventions.

Towards a new understanding of pregnancy denial: the misunderstood dissociative disorder

Pervasive pregnancy denial is a misunderstood reproductive anomaly which compromises the health of both mother and the developing fetus. Because in extreme cases, the death of the neonate at the hands of his/her mother has criminal repercussions, research has attempted to explain the origins of this clinical phenomenon. The purpose of this review is to analyze the evolution of understanding the association between pregnancy denial and neonaticide. This paper identifies the consistent similarities in symptom presentation, particularly dissociation, when a denied pregnancy ends with the death of the newborn. The common thread across the progression of the literature over time serves as a foundation for considering the development of diagnostic criteria for future inclusion in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. This paper reviews the seminal research from 1969 to current research up to 2020 addressing pregnancy denial and its connection to neonaticide. Peer reviewed and published articles related to key terms around "pregnancy denial," "pregnancy concealment," "neonaticide," and "dissociation" were retrieved from major databases such as PubMed, PsychINFO, JSTOR, ProQEST, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar. Reference lists of relevant articles were also scanned to search for further papers pertaining to similarities in symptom presentation across demographic profiles. Papers were excluded if they were not available in English, or if they did not contribute to identifying consistencies in clinical presentation when a pregnancy is denied. There are clear repetitive markers that occur across studies which pertain not only to the frequent absence of certain expected indicators of pregnancy, (i.e. no morning sickness, weight gain, or sensations of fetal movement), but also the misattribution of pregnancy-related symptoms, and the consistent experience of a dissociative episode while giving birth that can unintentionally result in neonaticide. This paper concludes that dissociation is a consistently seen symptom in pervasive pregnancy denial. Dissociation, in addition to other commonly seen symptoms across cases, suggests specific diagnostic criteria that lend themselves to inclusion in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

Unexpected delivery: a case report of cryptic pregnancy in Nigeria

The etiology of cryptic pregnancy has not been fully elucidated and there exist misconceptions about this phenomenon in our contemporary Nigerian society. This case presents the first case report of cryptic pregnancy in sub-Saharan Africa. A case of a 19 year old overweight female student who presented to the sick bay at 01: 30 hours with a 3-day history of lower back pain, abdominal discomfort and constipation. At the sick bay the general practitioner on call asked if she was pregnant and she vehemently said no, recounting that she sees her menstruation regularly. Abdominal examination however, revealed a gravid uterus of about 36 weeks and vaginal examination showed a fully dilated cervix. She was surprised, terrified and confused and only remembered having unprotected sexual intercourse many months earlier. Barely two hours later, she gave birth via spontaneous vaginal delivery, to a live female infant at 03: 14 hours. This case emphasizes the need for general practitioners and specialists in sub-Saharan Africa to be aware of the phenomenon of cryptic pregnancy, which involves women not being conscious of their gravid state until final weeks of gestation or at delivery, to reduce neonatal and maternal complications.

Denial of Pregnancy: Psychopathology and Clinical Management

Denial of pregnancy (DOP) is a challenging condition with poorly understood psychopathology. DOP is reported to be associated with problems such as severe psychological conflicts, obstetric complications, risks to the newborn, and difficulties in bonding with the infant. In this paper, we present and discuss the clinical manifestations of a severe form of DOP that lasted until the time of delivery with resultant multifaceted complications. Our paper highlights the severity of psychopathology and the need for coordinated management. Descriptions from different cultural backgrounds would improve the conceptual understanding of DOP.

Preventing neonaticide by early detection and intervention in student pregnancy

Pregnant students are the population group most likely to commit neonaticide, murder of an infant younger than 24 hours old. Denial by the student, lack of early pregnancy detection, and poor social support contribute to this disorder. As the health care professionals with whom the student has the most contact, school nurses are in an excellent position to prevent neonaticide through provision of health education, early detection of pregnancy, and intervention with students and their families to assist them in making healthy choices.

Psychodynamic psychiatry in the general medical setting

For more than half a century analytically trained psychiatrists have been making observations about psychodynamic factors impacting on medical illness and treatment. Some of these reports have been subsequently supported by evidence-based research while others have been found to be clinically useful to varying degrees even if not substantiated by research. In this article we have presented some of the highlights of the application of psychodynamics to the treatment of physical illness in the general medical setting. It is not meant to be a comprehensive review but we hope it will demonstrate how psychodynamic thinking has permeated many aspects of care in the general medical setting. Topics considered include onset of disease (giving up complex, specificity, role of stress, anniversary reactions), reactions to illness (psychological defenses, fantasies, role of psychotherapy), specific conditions (pregnancy, cancer, human immunodeficiency virus, conversion and alexithymia, heart disease, death and dying), and the doctor-patient relationship.