Abstract

PICCININI, Cesar A. et al. The imaginary baby and the expectations regarding the child`s future in adolescent and adult pregnant women. Interações [online]. 2003, vol.8, n.16, pp. 81-108. ISSN 1413-2907.

The present study investigated the imaginary baby and the expectations regarding the child`s future in adolescent and adult pregnant women. Twenty-one pregnant women took part in the study, eleven of which were adolescents and ten adults. Through an individual interview, the pregnant women`s initial reaction regarding the baby`s sex was investigated, together with the choice of his/her name, the baby`s imagined physical and emotional characteristics, as well as their expectations concerning his/her future. In general, the adolescents revealed greater difficulty in describing their perceptions regarding the baby than the adults. Moreover, their expectations concerning the baby`s future were associated to the wish to not repeat their own history of early pregnancy, which did not appear among the adults. In spite of some differences, the initial expectation of expressive differences between the groups received little support as many similarities appeared between the groups.

Keywords : Pregnancy; Adolescence; Imaginary baby; Maternal expectations; Primiparous pregnant women.

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