The Transition to Parenthood - PSY00066M

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Module will run

Occurrence	Teaching period
A	Semester 2 2025-26

Module aims

Pregnancy and the first months of life are periods of huge change and adjustment for both the parent and child. This module will cover the psychological and emotional experience of becoming a parent, dealing with the typical course of pregnancy and the postpartum period, as well as parental psychopathology during this time. We will explore the psychosocial consequences of infertility, miscarriage and stillbirth, and parenting under difficult circumstances. The module will also consider how assisted conception and surrogacy impact on the transition to parenthood in both heterosexual and gay and lesbian couples. We will deal with the different ways in which infant–parent interaction is characterised, and consider how individual differences in these aspects of the early parent–child relationship predict children’s later development.

Module learning outcomes

• To describe the typical course of pregnancy and the postpartum period, and to evaluate the perspectives that view events in pregnancy as playing a critical role in shaping development postpartum
• To evaluate the extent to which parental psychopathology impacts on the transition to parenthood
• To evaluate critically how different experiences relating to conception, pregnancy or childbirth impact on the parent and parent–child relationship
• To compare and contrast different characterisations of individual differences in early parent–child interaction and the extent to which they play independent roles in predicting children’s development

Module content

• Prenatal development
• Typical psychological and emotional experiences in the transition to parenthood
• Depression, anxiety disorders, substance abuse and psychosis
• Infertility and assisted conception
• Miscarriage and stillbirth
• The transition to parenthood in gay and lesbian couples
• Parenting in difficult conditions (parents in the armed forces, parents in prison, adopting children who have experienced severe deprivation)
• Parental sensitivity
• Parental mind-mindedness
• Parent–infant attachment

Indicative assessment

Task	% of module mark
Essay/coursework	100

Special assessment rules

None

Indicative reassessment

Task	% of module mark
Essay/coursework	100

Module feedback

The marks on all assessed work will be provided on e-vision.

Indicative reading

Wenzel, A. (Ed.) (2016). The Oxford Handbook of Perinatal Psychology. Oxford University Press.