Kseniya V. Kuleshova

The quality of a pregnant woman’s life in Russia is usually much lower than in any European country. Because of this situation it is most important to look for psychological resources that could enable pregnant women to have a higher quality of life. My empirical research showed that pregnant women who are not officially married feel fear and anxiety during their pregnancy more often than those who are married. There are statistically relevant differences between the control group (the group of officially married pregnant women) and unmarried pregnant women in their level of comfort during pregnancy. Unmarried pregnant women also feel such emotions as guilt, remorse, shame, and shyness more often (these data were obtained by means of C.E. Izard’s method). Data obtained through a clinical interview showed that pregnant women who are not married often feel that they are not being protected by society, have financial problems, and experience pain during the delivery of the child. They also feel guilt when they think of bringing up their children (“I won’t be able to give my child all those things that I could possibly give him or her if I were married”); and they are quite often ashamed of their pregnancy when they communicate with their parents and other relatives and with their friends, acquaintances, and doctors. The research showed no direct influence of such factors as the material wealth of a pregnant woman’s family on her emotional state. The number of children that women expect to have depends on their level of education but not on the level of the material wealth of their families.