The body image of pregnant women as reflected in their human figure drawings

Drawings of female figures made by women in their first (N = 54), second (N= 51), and third (N = 56) trimesters of pregnancy and post-partum (N = 55) women were compared with each other and with a control (N = 76) group of gynecological patients. There were no major differences in the drawings of women during the three major stages of pregnancy or between the pregnant women and those who had delivered recently. However, the pregnant women differed significantly from the gynecological controls in that they made more nude drawings, emphasized the genitals, distorted the drawn figures, and made the drawings smaller in size. It was concluded that somatic and psychological changes associated with pregnancy are reflected in the human figure drawings.