Childbearing Issues

The psychological journey of the childbearing period, from onset of menstruation through menopause, does not interest every woman, but for some, these are pivotal moments that contain life-changing events, memories and opportunities, and an opportunity to engage with the symbolic and archetypal material. As the above quote reveals, Jung was well aware of how the childbearing process poignantly expressed the transformations and the symbolic nature of the psyche, bringing psyche and soma into a powerful relationship that offers the possibility for transformation.

Some women spend years longing for a pregnancy, others who finally conceive only to experience a loss. Occasionally a woman is forced to choose to terminate a pregnancy. In addition, women who have experienced abuse discover that pregnancy and childbirth activate old emotional and physical obstacles that are difficult to shift. Traumatic surgeries or childbirth experiences layered upon traumatic personal histories benefit greatly by having a period of psychotherapy or Jungian analysis. Harboring shame and fear can inhibit a woman from getting the help she needs or wants, but these life transitions and difficult or even traumatic situations do not need to be shouldered alone.