Features Of Representations Of Parenthood And Transformation Them In Psychotherapy Among Women With The Diagnosis Of Infertility

The research problem is related to the issues of women's reproductive health and determination of factors related to or influencing women's fertility/infertility, which remain relevant and debatable in both medical and psychological sciences (Chizhova, 2018; Loseva and Yaroslavtseva, 2014; Gavrilova, 2018; Fedina, 2011, etc.). The purpose of the study was to examine the links between parenthood attitudes and infertility diagnosis in women of reproductive age and their transformation during narrative conversations. The research included 2 stages. Stage 1 was quantitative (a questionnaire survey) and Stage 2 was qualitative (semi-structured interviews and narrative conversations). As a result of the first part of the study, the hypotheses were partially confirmed: infertile women do have an increased emotional load on the role of mother, as compared to fertile women; the excessive concentration on the child, as the study found out, is more typical for fertile women who already have their own children. Infertile women also chose attitudes of obligation and idealization of the mother's role. Part 2 of the study, which examined the specific content of the attitudes of obligation and idealization, showed a transformation from extreme categorization to a perception of motherhood as more real and free from the influence of destructive social discourses, and a decrease in the general subjective anxiety about the difficulties of conception.