Exploring UP journeys among women with psychiatric vulnerability using interpretative phenomenological analysis 179 "I think my relationship with [partner] has improved in that aspect. But more so, I think I've become better at it. In the sense that in the past, I had more of the feeling that I could always leave." (Participant 7) For participant 1, the UP motivated her to set boundaries. Before her pregnancy, this was challenging for her. During pregnancy, her motivation was fueled by the protective feelings of the unborn child. "I'm especially concerned that I don't want my child to deal with those kinds of things, with that irrationality and that he'll have to endure such things in his life. That's why I don't have any contact with my sister anymore, I've completely cut her off. I just don't want those kinds of people in his life." (Participant 1) From a father’s perspective The following perspectives were derived from the two partners who participated in the interviews. Participant 2 and her partner emphasized the positive impact of pregnancy on her mental health by providing purpose to her life. Participant 2: "Yes, oh yeah, that's something too. Yeah, that's... Maybe a very good reason. I also notice that I feel much better than even before the pregnancy because now I can't just lie in bed forever or something like that. [...] and I can still be scared, but for a shorter period or something. Mmm. So, I also feel much less lonely or something. " Partner: "That's funny. We've talked about whether we should still, because I didn't want a pet at that point. Or whether we should get a cat or something because that can actually have quite a positive influence. [...] But we always knew that. That something like that [a baby]. Because even when we looked after a dog for a week or so and you were just really, even though that wasn't actually such a good time for you, you felt uh much better when you were taking care of something." The perspective of the partner of participant 1 on her pregnancy journey emphasizes that UP can lead to personal growth for women with psychiatric vulnerability. "Look, it's very good that there's obviously monitoring and follow-up for patients like [name participant 1], but I really think she's making a tremendous effort and that she's perfectly stable, and that she's just, you know, I, in the beginning of that pregnancy, I
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