From the author: The goal is to introduce the reader to such a direction in psychology as perinatal psychology! “The way a person is born, apparently, is closely connected with his general outlook on life, the ratio of optimism and pessimism, his attitude towards other people, his ability to withstand the blows of fate and achieve his goal.” Stonislav Grof The birth of a child, what could be more beautiful, touching and desirable. Each of us gets goosebumps when we hear about the birth of a new little person. BUT how often do each of us think that a new life is a continuation of other lives, the life of mom and dad, and that a child comes into this world with his luggage that he acquired while being nine months in the mother’s womb, and every new day, there in a special world was filled with emotions, feelings, experiences, new sensations, largely dependent on the emotions, feelings and experiences of “that” dearest, closest MOTHER in the world! Preparation for conception, the birth of a new life, pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding, and the first year of a child’s life, this is the starting point, the start from which the journey into life begins. We know that a child, even before birth, thinks, reacts to information coming to him, and starting from the sixth month of pregnancy (maybe even earlier) leads an active emotional life:¨ The fetus sees, hears, tastes, gains experience and even learns in [/b]utero[/b] [/i](which means in the uterus, before birth). What is most important is that he feels[/b], although his feelings are not as complex as those of an adult.¨ Consequently, what the child feels and perceives begins to shape his attitude towards himself and his expectations. How he subsequently perceives himself - happy or unhappy, aggressive or weak-willed, secure or anxious - depends in part on the attitude he feels towards himself while in the womb.¨ The main source of this personality-shaping attitude is the child's mother. This does not mean that a woman passes on every momentary grief, doubt, and worry to her child. [/b]Only permanent patterns[/b] of the emotional state matter. Chronic anxiety and conflicting attitudes towards future motherhood can leave a deep mark on the child’s personality even before birth. In turn, positive emotions, good mood and joyful anticipation of the birth of a baby can have a significant impact on the development of a healthy emotional sphere of the child’s personality.. 9 months, how long is it, a lot or a little? If you look at time, this is a relatively short period in the scale of life, but if you evaluate the emotional content, then without a doubt, this is the time that gives the whole rainbow of feelings and emotions. During this time, there is so much to do, and most importantly, to prepare for the role of parents! In our difficult times, in the circumstances dictated by life and society, it is sometimes not easy to maintain peace of mind. It is especially not easy to achieve peace of mind for a family that is preparing to become parents, if we put aside the thrill of anticipation, congratulations from family and friends, gifts, the hassle of preparing a dowry for the baby, many questions, anxieties and prejudices remain, all this falls on the shoulders of the young family, causing tension that is sometimes difficult to cope with on your own. Not to mention the storm of contradictions in which the expectant mother finds herself at the center! And how you want peace and confidence, for yourself and the baby, because it is she, the mother, who carries new life within herself and is responsible for the emotional development of the child before birth. And while understanding this in itself is amazing, what is even more amazing is how much it deepens and enriches our understanding of the meaning and importance of parenthood, especially motherhood. But how to do this, where to get knowledge, where to expect help, who will lend a hand and lead you into the vast world of happy motherhood andparenthood? The doctor in the antenatal clinic, who has about a dozen of these pregnant women, and each one looks into the eyes and waits for support and a kind word, but receives another referral for analysis or a list of medications, she certainly has no time for frank conversations about the feelings, anxieties and interconnection of the mother’s emotions and baby. Maybe the doctor, at the next planned ultrasound, will notice how the baby reacts to the fact that the mother is anxious, or will notice how the baby is happy that the mother sees him, perhaps he will notice the relationship between mother and baby and talk about it, tell him, give advice... but, alas, he is more interested in the condition of the placenta , umbilical cords and other things that only he understands, of course this is his job, and we come to the ultrasound precisely for this! Then where to go, to whom? Of course, the Internet has a lot of information and on various forums you can talk with the same future parents, they will certainly understand and tell you a lot, give you advice, but how many people have so many opinions, what if this information is incorrect, because everyone has their own experience, their own inner world , your special, innermost thoughts. And sometimes it’s scary to bring “your” thoughts, problems and anxieties to public display, in case they don’t understand! And I really want live communication with a knowledgeable person who would listen, understand, and support! . It’s another matter when there is a competent specialist nearby who meets all these requirements. Such a person is a specialist working in the field of perinatal psychology. I propose to understand where perinatal psychology came from, and what a specialist who calls himself a perinatal psychologist does. To begin with, it should be said that perinatal psychology is an important section of Perinatology, part of obstetrics and pediatrics, studying the development and health protection of the fetus and newborn, covering the perinatal, i.e., the intrauterine and neonatal period. At the present stage of development, Perinatology has posed such tasks, the solution of which required turning to a psychologist. This became the starting point in the formation of perinatal psychology as an independent science, which is a field of psychological knowledge that studies the emergence, dynamics and characteristics of the psychological and mental development of the relationship between mother and child, from conception to the first years of life after birth. Based on this definition, we see that perinatal psychology includes: the psychology of conception, the psychology of pregnancy, the psychology of childbirth, and the psychology of the early postnatal period. The main task of a psychologist and the goal of psychological work with future parents is to assist in the formation of a responsible and competent parent. Despite the fact that the request of the majority of expectant mothers to a psychologist is to prepare for childbirth and is formulated as training in breathing techniques, pain relief, relieving fear of childbirth, etc. what is very important is that the work of a psychologist cannot be limited to answering this request, although it ultimately satisfies it. The psychologist, unlike most parents, represents the prospects for the formation of the parental sphere, the qualities that will be required from the parent at different stages of the child’s development. Its task includes diagnosing readiness for parenthood, individual and group work to strengthen the prerequisites for the development of such qualities in future parents as patience, trust in themselves and the child, and also teach them to understand and feel their child and themselves. Which should ultimately lead to parents strengthening their confidence in themselves as good enough parents! Also, the task of the psychologist is to create and carefully develop preventive, diagnostic and psychocorrectional programs for working with families planning, expecting or raising a child, taking into account the latest theoretical and practical achievements in the field of physiology, psychology and sociology. To our great joy, today we are seeing an increase in interest in this science as the future parents and medical workers, many future parents show interest in prenatal coursestraining in which classes are conducted by obstetrician-gynecologists, lactation consultants, and psychologists. This is very important because the main reason for the emergence of the perinatal direction in psychology is the contradiction faced by specialists involved in childbirth: on the one hand, the progress of medicine is obvious, on the other, the deterioration of the health of women and children. Modern studies aimed at studying this problem have shown that well-structured joint work of an obstetrician-gynecologist and a perinatal psychologist can prevent disturbances in the course of physiological and neuropsychic processes in women expecting a child. This shows how much responsibility falls on the shoulders of specialists working in this field. To achieve the best result, the joint work of medical personnel and a perinatal psychologist is important. The next important task of a perinatal psychologist is to create motivation for breastfeeding and to provide assistance in establishing breastfeeding together with a lactation consultant. Research in this area has shown that the main problem in the formation of early dialogue between mother and child, the so-called Proto-Dialogue, has psychological roots. In the situation of breastfeeding, the unity of the physical boundaries of mother and child is partially restored, since in this case, in some way, what happened during the intrauterine period is imitated. If we speak in the language of psychology, “The most important thing in feeding is not feeding.” It is also the responsibility of a specialist to provide psychological assistance in overcoming depressive states after childbirth, and support in the first days and during the first year of a child’s life. The developing mother-child dyad needs very careful treatment. Rude interference can destroy the invisible bonds that develop between a mother and a growing child. Therefore, it is so important that the specialist trusts the processes that occur within this dyad, helping the woman find optimal forms of interaction with the child and accepting herself as a mother. Learn to trust your own experiences and develop your own style. This position echoes D. Winnicott’s concept of the “good enough mother.” In solving the problem of helping a woman accept a child and find her own style of relationship with him, the psychologist uses various techniques in her work, including body-oriented, art therapy, and others. Here are the main areas of work of a specialist in perinatal psychology. And the main goal of his activities is to create the best conditions for the birth of a healthy and happy child. The most important thing in our lives is our children and their physical and psychological well-being. And I want to end with the words of Bertine Andre, author of the book “Nursing in the womb, or a story about missed opportunities.” We all share responsibility for what nature places on a woman and on parents. We are all partners who bear a certain degree of responsibility for what comes into being. This is the world of the child. We have a responsibility to help him and his parents by awakening public consciousness and forcing social workers to respond to the every need of all families. If, instead of increasing the number of prisons and hospitals, the governments of all countries tried to eliminate or mitigate the consequences of wretched and hard life by turning to root cause and by taking more care of the pregnant woman, who should be explained her role and create the conditions necessary for the implementation of the tasks assigned to her, then we could get better results at lower financial costs. In just a few generations we could significantly reduce the number of children with physical disabilities, as well as transform for the better the physical condition and psyche of both men and women. And then everyone, having become stronger, more resilient and more self-confident, having become more open to others and to the manifestations of life itself, can hope for..