From the author: Psychology of Pregnancy A pregnant woman is a very fragile and susceptible system - especially if she is pregnant for the first time. This is due to many factors, for example: - Uncertainty of the future - Communication with some gynecologists (I was lucky - I got a calm and adequate doctor, but after talking with others and reading stories on the Internet, I realized that this does not happen for everyone ) - Communication with grandmothers and aunts, who often talk complete nonsense - Conflicting (and often frightening) information on the Internet and in the media All these factors create the basis for a bad mood and the formation of various kinds of fears and anxieties in a pregnant woman. And these conditions are not at all beneficial for either the mother or the baby. Therefore, psychological help and support can be very useful for women faced with the influence of the above-mentioned harmful factors. This benefit can manifest itself in - Simply support - from the group, and from the psychologist leading the group (or accompanying the birth, or working with the woman individually) and in individual consultations. Pregnant women are very sensitive, and they can be scared, and close people are not always able to simply support, and not teach or instruct. - Exchange of experience with other members of the group is a psychotherapeutic factor in itself; it is on its basis that all psychological support groups are built. - Working through specific problems that arise in specific pregnant women - there are many of them, they are different, and some of them need to be worked on (the woman is able to cope with some of them herself or with the help of relatives). For example, a pregnant woman is abandoned by her husband, and she simply does not have enough resources of her own to cope with this situation. Or a woman who has experienced several miscarriages is afraid of not carrying a real pregnancy to term. Most likely, the help of a psychologist in these cases will be very helpful. - Separately about psychological support for childbirth. Again, close people (husband, girlfriend, mother) do not always have the opportunity or personal resources to support and help a pregnant woman during childbirth. And many first-time mothers simply need this help and support. And I, as a psychologist (and as a pregnant woman), am very pleased with the appearance on the market of such a service, which consists in the fact that a specialist can come to you at your birth: a) with experience in childbirth and able to use, for example, massage and pain relief techniques; b) supportive a woman in labor during this difficult period; c) knowing what will happen and how it will happen (this reduces the fear of uncertainty); Here are my main thoughts as a psychologist. But I would like to clarify the following point - visiting a psychological group is by no means necessary and useful for the vast majority of women. If for some reason you do not participate in such events and do not feel the need to do so, this is absolutely normal, and there is no need to feel guilty or anxious about this. There are many women who are offended by sitting in a circle and talking to other pregnant women, as well as from psychologists. And for them, everything that I wrote above may be not just superfluous, but even unhelpful. So in any case, you need to listen to yourself and your needs. If you have any other questions, I will be happy to answer them here or in person. Now I will describe my client experience. As a client, it was very useful and important for me to attend a similar group for expectant mothers (although we had not so much psychological support as childbirth preparation courses - but it was the psychologist who worked with us). Since this is my first pregnancy, I still didn’t really know what was happening to me and what to expect. As I wrote above, many pregnant women are tormented by fears. I had a fear of childbirth. At the antenatal clinic we had 3 classes - an obstetrician-gynecologist, a psychologist and a pediatrician - everything was quick and concise. Therefore, for me personally, going to childbirth preparation courses, where we were given a lot of useful information and support, was very important - my fear decreased, and moral readiness for childbirth appeared..