Background:
Pregnancy represents not only a physiological transformation but also a relational process, as expectant parents begin to conceptualise and emotionally connect with the fetus.

Aim:
The overall aim of the study was to construct a substantive theory of expectant parents’ fetal conceptual and relational experiences. This presentation focuses specifically on the findings related to how intimacy and kinship are cultivated with the unborn child during pregnancy.

Methods:
Following ethical approval, a constructivist grounded theory methodology was employed. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with nine first-time expectant mothers and their male partners during early, middle, and late pregnancy. Data were analysed using techniques such as coding, constant comparison, and memo-writing to develop a theoretical model.

Findings:
The parental–fetal tie emerged as an evolving phenomenon, developing along convoluted and individualised trajectories. Intimacy was fostered through imaginative practices, embodied experiences, emotional projections, and privileged knowledge of the fetus. In parallel, parents emphasised family resemblance and household belonging as means of incorporating the fetus into their kinship network.

Conclusion:
Expectant parents progressively constructed the fetus as both an intimate other and a kin member, integrating the unborn child into their family identity prior to birth. These findings extend sociological and anthropological concepts of intimacy and kinship into the antenatal context, broadening understandings of family formation. They highlight the importance of inclusive perinatal care that supports both parents in cultivating relational ties with the fetus and suggest directions for longitudinal research into the postpartum sequelae of these antenatal processes.