Pre- and Peri-Natal Psychology in a Developing Country

Psychology dates to the early part of the twentieth century in Yugoslavia, but
developments in the science have been slow for a number of reasons. Lag in technological development and
lack of financial support have been characteristic. Furthermore, sociocultural and economic differences between
the regions have made an even development of pre- and perinatal psychological awareness impossible. There
is now conflict between cultural values relative to pregnancy, the life of the fetus and abortion. Medical
advances and social change have produced problems faster than they can be solved. The future role of preand perinatal psychology in solving these problems will be significant. Psychology as a science was born in
Yugoslavia at the beginning of this century when the first experimental laboratory of psychology was founded at
the University of Zagreb. From those early beginnings until today, the Zagreb school of psychology has mainly
worked on an experimental basis, which naturally has had a considerable effect on the practice of psychology.
Although in those early days our psychology kept pace with the developments in Europe and the United States,
it later got out of step due to many different factors. One of the crucial factors was undoubtedly technological
progress along with the country’s financial resources which are a basic prerequisite for the development of any
science. Since prenatal psychology is still a relatively new field of psychology, it is quite understandable why it
has not yet reached its peak in Yugoslavia.