Pregnancy Stages and Maternal Experience: An Interview

Introduction to Pregnancy

Pregnancy is the stage of reproduction in which a sperm has fertilized the female reproductive egg, forming a fetus or embryo inside the female womb. A pregnancy may also involve multiple gestations, as in the case of twins, triplets, or quadruplets. Although most other mammalian pregnancies typically produce more than one offspring, human pregnancy remains the most extensively studied of all mammalian pregnancies. Childbirth usually occurs 38 to 40 weeks after conception, while conception itself can take from 7 to 15 days following intercourse. This amounts to approximately 40 weeks from a woman's last menstrual cycle. The World Health Organization defines the normal term for delivery as between 37 weeks and 42 weeks (Typol, 2006).

The purpose of this paper is to examine the different stages of pregnancy from an exterior perspective — not from the standpoint of what the developing offspring experiences, but rather what the mother goes through during and after pregnancy. We explore her personal psychological reactions to the changes happening within her, her relationship with her partner, and her interactions with those around her. To this end, a woman was interviewed first-hand about her experiences during and after pregnancy, and about how those experiences affected her relationship with her spouse.

Pregnancy Terminology and Trimesters

There are various terms used to describe the state of pregnancy. One of the most commonly known is gravid, and a pregnant woman is referred to as a gravida. Similarly, the term parity (abbreviated as para) refers to someone who has had one or more successful previous pregnancies. The medical term for someone who has never conceived is nulligravida; a woman who has been pregnant exactly once before is called a primigravida; and a woman with multiple subsequent pregnancies is referred to as multigravida or multiparous. For example, a woman during her second pregnancy would be described as gravida 2, para 1, and upon delivery would be described as gravida 2, para 2. An in-progress pregnancy, as well as abortions, miscarriages, and stillbirths, keeps the parity value lower than the gravida number, whereas a multiple birth increases the parity value. Women who have never carried a pregnancy beyond 20 weeks of gestational age are referred to as "nulliparous." Although these are established medical and cultural terms, they are rarely used in everyday conversation (Heyman & Henriksen, 2001).

The most commonly used terms during a pregnancy are embryo and fetus, applied according to the stage of development. The term embryo is used for the first eight weeks following conception, while the term fetus is used from the second month onward until birth.

Throughout the world, medical and legal discussions of pregnancy are broadly divided into three trimester periods, providing a consistent framework for referencing the different stages of fetal development. The first trimester carries the highest risk of miscarriage, defined as the natural death of an embryo. During the second trimester, fetal development can be more easily diagnosed and monitored, and the risk of miscarriage decreases as the pregnancy stabilizes (Kane, 2005). In the third trimester, the physician can more reliably assess the fetus's chances of surviving outside the uterus without medical assistance.

With the growth of modern medicine and widespread access to information, many people are familiar with the terminologies associated with pregnancy, as well as the various natural and assisted methods of conception. Nonetheless, most public discussion focuses on the developing fetus rather than on the mother's subjective experience — the focus of this paper.

The Maternal Experience: Personal Reactions and Career

The woman interviewed for this paper is 33 years old, married, and the mother of three children — two daughters and a son. Prior to having children she had a successful career and later transitioned to being a full-time mother. She is a close family friend, which facilitated open and candid conversation throughout the interview.

The first question asked was how her pregnancy affected her. She described herself as a practical woman who first suspected something was wrong because she could not stop vomiting almost every morning and found that even the lightest smells irritated her. She decided to get a pregnancy test and, after seeking information and counseling, received a positive result. She was offered an ultrasound, which she accepted, expecting to see little more than a mass of tissue. Once the clear, water-based gel was applied to her abdomen, however, the screen came to life. As she described it: "The screen of the ultrasound jumped alive with my baby's face very close and hands visibly waving as if to say, 'Hi Mom, I'm not a blob.'" She did not speak throughout the ultrasound, but her tears conveyed everything.

From her very first doctor's visit, the excitement was overwhelming. For her next several appointments, she would arrive a day or more early because she simply could not wait to see the ultrasound again. She even contemplated purchasing a small ultrasound machine with her husband, who gently discouraged the idea. As she put it: "I just wanted to see. I just wanted to see the ultrasound."

As a working woman, she had anticipated that a moment would come when she would have to choose between her career and her baby. She had been working as a PR manager for an advertising agency, a role that required her to be on her feet for up to ten hours at a time. As her pregnancy progressed, the physical demands of the job became increasingly difficult to manage, and fatigue set in more quickly. "Going to the various events I had to do PR for was physically demanding; I had to be on my feet for 10 hours a day and had to make sure everything from the PA system to the media meet and greet was set up. I just couldn't do it anymore." As she grew more interested in all things related to babies and maternity, it felt natural to shift her professional focus toward PR work for companies in those sectors. Being pregnant gave her the firsthand knowledge she needed to break into this new area of business.

Conclusion

Heyman, B., & Henriksen, M. (2001). Risk, age and pregnancy: A case study of prenatal genetic screening and testing. New York: Palgrave.

Typol, L. (2006). Pregnancy through its stages. New York: Palgrave.

Kane, R. L., & Kane, R. A. (2005). Ageism in healthcare and long-term care. Generations, 29(3), 49+.