Becoming a parent : contemporary contexts and challenges during the transition to parenthood / Catherine A. McMahon, Macquarie University, Sydney.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

McMahon, Catherine, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Parenthood.

Parenting.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiv, 307 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2023.

Summary:

The contexts for becoming a parent are ever-changing, bringing new opportunities and new challenges. Becoming a Parent examines the transition to parenthood from diverse perspectives - it is about becoming, rather than being a parent. Drawing on a large body of theory and research, the book explores universal psychological journeys as well as the specific challenges faced by those whose pathways to parenthood are non-traditional or medically complicated. It also examines the unprecedented reproductive choices in contemporary society and provides a comprehensive overview of the personal and social impact of reproductive technologies. Pregnancy, childbirth, and early parenthood (the so-called 'fourth trimester') are discussed in detail and illustrated with case anecdotes and personal stories of people with 'high-risk' pregnancies, fathers as well as mothers, adoptive parents, and LGBTQ as well as heterosexual adults. It concludes with social and policy initiatives that can better support positive adaptation during this crucial life transition.

Contents:

Cover

Half-title page

Title page

Copyright page

Dedication

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgements

Permissions

Chapter 1 Contemplating Parenthood: Why Children?

Trends in Childbearing Choices

Fertility Control

Contraception

Unintended Pregnancies

Infertility

Individual Differences in Desire for a Child

Biological Perspectives

Reproductive Desires: Baby Lust?

Psychological Perspectives: Rational Decision Making?

Childbearing Decisions: Existential Meaning and Cost-Benefit Analyses

Social and Cultural Perspectives

Pronatalist Social Norms

Demographic Influences

Childless or Childfree?

Delayed Childbearing and Involuntary Childlessness

Choosing a Childfree Life

Becoming a Parent: Contemporary Contexts and Challenges

Chapter 2 Reproductive Technologies

Milestones in Reproductive Technologies

Third Party Reproduction

Biological, Psychological, and Social Impact of Reproductive Technology

Physical Consequences

Psychological Consequences

Success Rates and Treatment Failure

Deciding to Stop Treatment

Social Consequences

The Couple Relationship

Lifestyle Implications

Cultural, Religious, and Economic Barriers

Windows on the Womb: Imaging, Screening, and Diagnostic Testing

Ultrasound

Risk Screening and Diagnostic Testing

Non-invasive Pregnancy Screening Tests in the First Trimester

The First Trimester Combined Test

Cell Free DNA Technology (cfDNA)

Invasive Diagnostic Tests

Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD)

Chorionic Villus Sampling (CVS)

Amniocentesis

Finding Out the Sex of the Foetus

Impact of Antenatal Screening and Diagnostic Testing

Biological Impact

Psychological Impact

Psychological Impact of Ultrasound

Social Impact

Knowing the Sex of the Foetus.

Benefits of Reproductive Technologies and Ongoing Controversies

Impact on Parenting and Offspring

Multiple Births: Perinatal Health

Surplus Frozen Embryos

Costs, Equity of Access, and Commercial Exploitation

The Egg Freezing Debate

The Commodification of Life?

Designer Babies: A 'Slippery Slope'?

Sex Selection and Gendercide

The Technological Imperative

New Frontiers and New Challenges

Chapter 3 Becoming a Mother

A Developmental Perspective on Becoming a Mother

Psychoanalytic Theory: Developmental Tasks of Pregnancy

Adjusting to the Biological Changes of Pregnancy

Psychosocial Challenges: Taking on a Maternal Identity

Social Constructions of Motherhood

Developing a Relationship with the Unborn Baby

Maternal-Foetal Attachment.

Social Challenges: Renegotiating Relationships

Challenging Contexts for Becoming a Mother

Biological and Social Clocks: 'Off-Time' Pregnancies

Becoming a Mother as a Teenager

Biological Challenges

Psychological Challenges

Social Challenges

Older First-Time Mothers

Becoming a Mother: Challenges for Women with a Disability

Alternative Pathways

Becoming a Mother as a Single Woman

Planning to Become a Parent Alone

Wellbeing during Pregnancy: Positive Adaptation and Mental Health

Perinatal Distress

Mood Disturbances: Perinatal Depression and Anxiety

Different Orientations to Motherhood

Summary Comments

Chapter 4 Becoming a Father

Theoretical Perspectives on Becoming a Father

Traditional Psychoanalytic Theory on Fathering

Attachment Theory and Fathering

Social Constructions of Fatherhood

A Developmental Perspective

Coming to Terms with the Biological Reality of the Pregnancy

Taking on a Paternal Identity.

Developing a Relationship with the Unborn Baby

Paternal Foetal Attachment

Two Becomes Three: Renegotiating the Couple Relationship

Challenging Contexts for Becoming a Father

The Timing of Fatherhood

Teenage and Young Fathers

Older First-Time Fathers

Wellbeing and Mental Health

Chapter 5 High-Stakes Pregnancies: The Impact of Infertility, Risk, and Loss

Tentative Pregnancies

Pregnancy-Focused Anxiety

Medical Risk in Pregnancy

Twin Pregnancies

Pregnancy after Infertility and ART Conception

Replacing an Infertile Identity with a Maternal Identity

Pregnancy-Focused Anxiety and Foetal Attachment

Hassles and Uplifts of Pregnancy

Pregnancy after Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis

'Normal' and 'Special' Pregnancies

Becoming a Parent after Pregnancy or Perinatal Loss

Losing a Baby at Birth

Biological Challenges: 'My Body Has Failed'

1 Violated Expectations

2 Identity Challenges

3 Grief and Complicated Mourning

4 The Partner Relationship: Asynchronous Grieving

Individualised Support for Parents after Perinatal Death

The Subsequent Pregnancy after Stillbirth

Terminations for Foetal Abnormality

Adverse Findings after Amniocentesis

The Termination and Birth Process

Miscarriage

Recurrent Miscarriages

Miscarriage after Infertility and Conception through ART

Chapter 6 Alternative Pathways: Becoming a Parent through Reproductive Donation or Adoption

Biological Connections: Genetics and Gestation

Genetic Relatedness: Meanings and Alternatives

Gestational Relatedness

Psychological Challenges: Integrating a Parental Identity

Developing a Relationship with the Expected Child

Judgement and Stigma

Secrecy and Disclosure.

Couple Relationships and Third-Party Donors and Surrogates

Relationships with Extended Family

Relationships with Donors, Surrogates, Birth Parents

Conception using Donated Sperm, Eggs, or Embryos

Becoming a Parent through Donor Insemination (DI)

Heterosexual Couples

Single Mothers by Choice

Becoming a Parent through Egg Donation

Developing a Maternal Identity and Relationship with the Unborn Baby

Becoming a Parent through Embryo Donation

Becoming a Parent through Surrogacy

Donor/Recipient Relationships: Indebtedness and the 'Gift Dynamic'

LGBTQ Parents

Two Mothers: Becoming Parents as a Lesbian Couple

Birth Mothers and Co-Mothers: Complexities of Maternal Identity

The 'Co-Mother'

Psychological and Social Adjustment

Two Fathers: Becoming Parents as a Gay Couple

Taking on a Paternal Identity

Becoming Gay Fathers through Surrogacy

Which Father will be Genetically Related?

Contact with the Surrogate

Transgender and Gender Non-Binary Parents

The Transition to Parenthood for Adoptive Parents

Who Adopts?

The Process of Becoming a Parent through Adoption: Women's Experiences

Same-Sex Parents Adopting: Adoptive Fathers' Perspectives

Chapter 7 Childbirth

Medical Intervention and the Natural Childbirth Movement

The Biology of Childbirth

The Three Stages of Labour

Common Complications and Medical Interventions during Childbirth

Elective Induction

Caesarean Section

Pain in Childbirth: Medical Approaches

The Psychology of Childbirth

Psychological Approaches to Managing Fear and Pain

Fear of Childbirth

Psychoprophylactic Approaches: 'Doing the Breathing'

Mindfulness Approaches

A Sense of Control?

Psychoeducation: Feeling Prepared

Birth Plans

Caesarean Birth on Maternal Request.

Individual Differences in Orientation to Childbirth

The Social Context for Childbirth

Men and Childbirth: The Experience and Contribution of the Father

Setting and Cultural Context for Childbirth

Early Contact with the Baby: 'Doing the Bonding'

Having a Premature Baby

Emotional and Physical Health around Childbirth

Chapter 8 The Fourth Trimester

Recovery from Childbirth

Early Breastfeeding

Neurological and Hormonal Changes that Support Caregiving

Understanding the Young Infant: A Developmental Perspective

Individual Differences: Infant Temperament

Negative Labels and Self-Fulfilling Prophecies

'Orchid Children'

Getting to Know the Baby

Empathy, Attunement, and Sensitive Parenting

Mutual Regulation: A Relational Perspective

Crying, Settling, and Sleep

Crying

Persistent Inconsolable Crying

Night Waking and Broken Sleep

Strategies to Manage Crying, Settling, and Sleep Problems

Conflicting Advice

Soothing Techniques

Sleep and Crying Training Programmes

Co-Sleeping

Psychological Challenges: A New Identity

The Maternal Identity: Fusion or Autonomy?

Reconciling the Losses

Integrating a Paternal Identity

Parental Identity: Summary Comments

The Social and Cultural Context for Early Parenting

The 'Baby' in the Room: Two Become Three

Social Connection and Support

A Cross-Cultural Perspective: The First 100 Days

Becoming a Parent in the Context of Disability

Psychological Wellbeing in the Fourth Trimester

Positive Emotional Responses to Becoming a Parent

Postnatal Distress: Depression, Anxiety, and Parenting Stress

Under-Recognition or Over-Pathologising Motherhood?

Postnatal Mood Problems in Fathers

Who is Vulnerable?

The Importance of Context and Social Capital.

Adverse Childhood Experiences.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 22 Nov 2022).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781108877664

1108877664

9781108875431

1108875432

9781108870641

1108870643