Every human being has particular traits that make them unique, both physically and psychically. These characteristics are determined by three factors:

  • heredity, that is, the transmission to offspring of morphological, physiological, and psychic characteristics present in the genetic makeup of their ancestors;
  • ontogenesis, that is, the set of developmental processes that take place from fertilization to birth;
  • the circumstances of conception.

According to the French perinatal psychiatrist B. Bayle, the embryo is not merely a biological body but the bearer of a history concerning the circumstances in which they were conceived, by parents with specific psychosocial and cultural characteristics, at that precise moment in their lives and in their relationship.

These characteristics determine the embryo's conceptional identity, which the embryo possesses without being aware of it, but which affects the way maternal representations take shape. During pregnancy, in fact, the mother projects onto the being she has conceived desires and fears that come not only from her own past experiences but that are also shaped by the circumstances and manner of conception.

The representation of the child, the mental space the mother builds for them during pregnancy, and the emotional investment in the child to come vary considerably depending on the circumstances of conception. It is enough, for example, to think of the difference in feelings a woman might have toward a child conceived in a moment of love and tenderness with her partner, compared with one who is the result of rape or incest.

Conceptional identity, through the maternal experience it triggers, influences and shapes the psychic development of the child to come. Even so, although the start of life is harder for a child conceived in particular circumstances like the ones mentioned, this doesn't mean their future is negatively determined. Depending on their capacity for resilience* and on the psycho-affective environment they will grow up in, they won't necessarily develop psychopathological symptoms.

While the situations described to illustrate the impact of conceptional identity on a child's future are polar opposites (a good relationship between the parents versus rape or incest), there are other situations too in which the manner of conception can affect the psychic development of the child to come and influence their future emotional relationships.

For example, when conception doesn't happen naturally but through artificial fertilization, or when a child is conceived to replace another who is no longer there. In these cases, which we will have the chance to explore further in an upcoming article, psychotherapeutic support for the mother is always of fundamental importance, in order to avoid «burdening» the child to come with anxiety, fear, and pain that shouldn't concern them, but that give them a conceptional identity evoking unresolved tragedies, one that could negatively affect their life.

* The psyche's «self-repairing» capacity to cope with traumatic experiences and reorganize them positively despite adversity.