Desire for children and illness coping – results from two case studies

Background/Objectives: Reproductive decisions among women with severe mental disorders may be influenced by both the perception of reproductive risks in regard to illness course and prospective well-being of the child on the one hand and normative expectations on the other hand. While there is a growing body of research on subjective perspectives of mentally ill parents there is little research on individual strategies to cope with these challenges before any reproductive decision leading to pregnancy or forgoing parenthood. Methods: N=15 narrative-biographical interviews with childless women with mental illness…