Altered cognitive functioning in pregnant women

Psychoanalytically orientated writers have independently described an alteration in psychological functioning, which occurs in many pregnant women, and is probably best described as a shift towards a primary process mode of thinking. This literature is reviewed and an illustrative case history provided. Unlike affective changes during pregnancy, alterations in cognitive style have received little attention despite their significant diagnostic and psychotherapeutic implications. The phenomenon invites collaboration between the biological and psychoanalytic orientations within psychiatry further to investigate it

Cognition · Cognitive style · Developmental psychology · Epistemology · Phenomenon · Pregnancy · Process (computing) · Psychiatry · Psychoanalysis · Psychoanalytic theory · Psychotherapist · Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum · Psychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research · Psychology · Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications