Abstract
This study, which was carried out with 232 women, has presented comparative data on two groups:
1. 10 women followed throughout their pregnancy psychotherapeutically (experimental group).
2. 52 women followed throughout their pregnancy by the family physician only (control group).
A specially designed psychotherapeutic technique was described which included collections of blood and urine for serological (Ross-Waaler) and hormonal studies at weekly intervals. Specific results are reported together with two individual cases from both groups to support the findings which include:
A. Of the experimental group only 2 (20%) developed complications in pregnancy, in contrast to 43 (82.1%) of the control group. x2 = 20.41; P - 0.005 > P > 0.001).
B. The majority, 30 (57.3%) of the women of the control group were (prior to marriage) from the lower social strata, in contrast to none (0%) of the women of the experimental group. (x2 = 11.36; P - 0.005 > P > 0.001).
C. Differences between the two groups, in favour of the experimental group, of the husband's social identification were significant at x2 = 5.00; P - 0.1 > P > 0.05.
D. Differences between the two groups, in favour of the experimental group, concerning education and religion were very significant at x2 = 10.49; P - 0.005 > P > 0.001 and x2 = 2.58; P - 0.50 > P > 0.25 respectively.
E. Psychotherapy given these women had a salutary effect upon those psychophysiological processes which maintain pregnancy at a live-birth rate of 90%.