PREMARITAL PREGNANCY AND ANXIETY.

The article presents a paper, which is a small exploratory study of the relationship of anxiety to the situation of the unwed mother. Pregnancy and motherhood, even when legitimate, are fraught with anxiety potential. There is the basic possibility that the expectant mother may die in childbirth. To the extent that motherhood is a value with which a woman identifies her existence, the possibilities that the baby may be stillborn or malformed are anxiety arousing. If health, attractiveness, a girlish figure are pre-eminent values for the pregnant woman, the possibility that these may be lost as a result of pregnancy is another source of anxiety. If the husband or another close relative upon whom the expectant mother is dependent for acceptance and emotional support is insistent that the child be a boy, or have red hair or some other characteristic over which the woman has no control, this attitude may also be a source of anxiety for her. In addition to any of the above, the unwed expectant mother experiences a number of further sources of anxiety.