The Oxford Handbook of Perinatal Psychology
Abstract
Perinatal psychology is a field devoted to understanding the biopsychosocial experiences of women and men during the transition to parenthood. These experiences include pregnancy, labor, delivery, adjustment and parenting during the postpartum period, lactation, family planning, adoption, infertility, and adjustment to perinatal loss. The Handbook of Perinatal Psychology brings together leading scholars in the field who summarize and critically evaluate research on relevant issues in the field. Part I of the volume includes chapters on the typical course of pregnancy and the postpartum period, including the psychological and biological changes that women experience, as well as changes in the partner relationship and fetal and infant development. Part II of the volume includes chapters on psychopathology during pregnancy and the postpartum period, and Part III of this volume includes chapters on clinical interventions for perinatal mental health disorders. Part IV of the volume includes chapters on problems that can occur with childbearing, including pregnancy loss, infertility, and high-risk pregnancies and the birth of high-risk infants. Part V of the volume includes chapters on special issues, including the perinatal experiences of adolescents, low-income and incarcerated women, and gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people, as well as cross-cultural approaches to understanding the transition to parenthood. The Handbook of Perinatal Psychology illustrates the truly interdisciplinary nature of the field and highlights the myriad psychosocial, biological, and environmental that affect this momentous time in people’s lives.
Keywords:
pregnancy,
childbearing,
postpartum,
lactation,
transition to parenthood,
perinatal,
adjustment
Bibliographic Information
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- Print Publication Date:
- Apr 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780199778072
- Published online:
- Jan 2014
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199778072.001.0001
