Abstract

MACHADO, Gabriela Marcolino Alves; NUNES, Laísy de Lima  and  AQUINO, Fabiola de Sousa Braz. Pregnancy and Early Development of Twins: A Study based on Maternal Reports. Estud. pesqui. psicol. [online]. 2022, vol.22, n.2, pp.752-772.  Epub May 03, 2024. ISSN 1808-4281.  https://doi.org/10.12957/epp.2022.68651.

Initial social interactions are fundamental to child development, and the role of adults in promoting practices that favor them is essential. Such practices can be influenced by contextual aspects and by parental emotions, conceptions and expectations about their children. In the present study, the family configuration characterized by the presence of twin babies was considered. The objective was to get to know the mothers' emotions about twin pregnancies and to analyze their conceptions and expectations about the development of twins in the first 24 months of life. Nine mothers of twin babies participated in this study, who answered a sociodemographic questionnaire and a semi-structured interview. The results revealed ambivalent maternal feelings regarding the experience with twinning since pregnancy; conceptions about child development, factors that can influence it and differences between twins; and expectations about the development of babies. We conclude that a greater understanding of aspects related to twin maternity can help in the creation of social and emotional support networks for caregivers and contexts that favor the interactions established between the mother-babies triad.

Keywords : motherhood; twins; infant development; conceptions; expectations..

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