Chapter 7 184 become mothers or fathers in the future, which was the main reason for continuing the pregnancy. Indeed, pregnancy acceptance is related to wanting to become a parent in the future and to having positive circumstances such as housing, a partner relationship and/or a support system, adult age and employment41,47. Previous qualitative research shows how parents are motivated by UPs to make lifestyle changes, as UPs give a renewed sense of purpose41. The most compelling finding in our study is that in women with psychiatric vulnerability, UPs can install a window of opportunity for personal growth by changing behaviors or receiving treatment as participants realize how their psychiatric vulnerability and/or adverse childhood experiences might impact future parenting. In a different domain, women tend to change their behavior toward romantic partners, family and employers by setting boundaries and overcoming conflict. Extending our results to larger settings is undesirable given the qualitative nature of our work; however, it should be noted that relationships can change after UPs, as presented by a quantitative study in which couples in UPs reported improved relationship functioning after birth compared with before birth48. Additionally, previous qualitative work has demonstrated how women who become mothers incorporate their children into themselves and into their self-boundaries49. Although intrinsic motivation to change transgenerational patterns was abundantly clear, external factors such as perceived stigma challenged how participants could cope with their (negative) feelings toward pregnancy. In an Iranian interview study on women with UPs conducted in a different social and cultural setting, feelings of shame, guilt and self-blame were also reported, suggesting that societal stigma may impact pregnancy journeys in various social settings19. Although pregnant women in our study experienced support from their partners, MHPs, friends and/or family, two women feared becoming a single mother. They emphasized that continuing the pregnancy was dependent on partner support, which is in accordance with the findings of a recent study that highlighted the importance of partner support for pregnant women’s psychological wellbeing50. However, this finding may also reflect a lack of support and accommodation provided by contemporary society for single parents. Previous studies have reported conflicting evidence on how pregnant women and their partners may or may not run parallel in their feelings about continuing or terminating their pregnancy27,51. One study found great heterogeneity in how their role in the decision-making process was perceived52. In our study, the future fathers’ feelings toward the pregnancy ultimately aligned with those of the women. Additionally, they perceived the pregnancy as positive for the mental health and personal development of their partner.
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