Wisdom and Births

Among the many pioneers and leaders in the field of Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology, one of my favorites is Dr. Robert Oliver, an MD who was at the front of the humanistic birth movement. Dr. Oliver passed in 2005, but his legacy and work still resonate throughout the birth psychology field. He served on the Board of Directors for the Association of Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health and passionately advocated for mother-baby centered care. Here is an excellent quote, one of my favorites, from a publication found in the Journal of Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health (JPPPH). What does it mean for every woman to have an 'assured uterus'? I think there is room for personal interpretation, but as defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, assured means: very confident; characterized by certainty or security. In this light, an assured uterus means that every mother is supported throughout her pregnancy in emotional, physical, and relational ways. That she feel...

I recently responded to a post on a Facebook parenting page, the mother wanted to know what she could do to help her 3 month old daughter heal from her birth. I encouraged her to look into the field of Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology (PPN) and even mentioned a few names of leading practitioners in the field. After recommending this, I began my own search to actually see what materials were available to parents who want to help their baby heal from a stressful or traumatic birth. This is when I truly realized that there is almost nothing currently available to guide parents in supporting their baby through a healing process. Most of what I found encouraged parents to seek clinical counseling from someone who specializes in PPN and I would encourage you to do this as well, for babies with severe trauma or residual issues from their prenatal, birth or postpartum experience. But here's the thing, PPN is hardly recognized and professionals that specialize in it are still few and far b...

Few people know about the important field of Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology (PPN), which studies the fascinating mind of the developing human embryo and newborn baby. More on PPN Surprisingly, this area of study receives very little attention from mainstream media, medical research and practice, and even in discussions for improving birth - which heavily focus on the rights and experiences of the mother.  What does PPN have to tell us about our babies, their experiences, and our potential as human beings? The following quotes are from a few of the leaders in PPN research and illuminate some important findings emerging from this incredible field.  "The truth is, much of what we have traditionally believed about babies is false. We have misunderstood and underestimated their abilities. They are not simple beings but complex and ageless - small creatures with unexpectedly large thoughts."  ~David Chamberlain, PhD - Babies Remember Birth (1988) * "PPN findings rev...

Have you ever considered birth from the perspective of the baby? It is likely that you haven't and it's probably because there is a pervasive belief in our culture that since we don't remember this time of our lives, we must not have the mental capacity to make judgements, feel emotions and even feel pain... yes seriously, pain. It was only in the early 1980s that the medical community was forced (by parents) to acknowledge babies can feel pain and to provide medication for surgeries, such as circumcision (1). But let's think think about this. Babies can feel, see, taste, hear, touch, suck, kick, grasp, and react to external and internal stimuli while in the womb... neurons are firing, cells are working... isn't it a wildly flawed assumption to think that experiences during this time of our life don't matter? Could it be possible that early experiences, such as those during pregnancy, birth, and infancy are stored within our incredible and rapidly developing bra...

For my first blog I would like to return to my interest in Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology (PPN) and how our current medical model of managed care can often negatively impact the optimal trajectory of human development. This topic is extensive and this blog was originally very lengthy, but I will keep this to a PPN introduction and more detailed thoughts about obstetrics and PPN will follow later. Prenatal and perinatal research has demonstrated that a baby is conscious and aware during the prenatal period and that they  experience the mother's internal and emotional states. In the womb, babies are learning about themselves and the world around them through information obtained using their five senses as well as through the transfer of chemical messengers, such as hormones, in the shared maternal blood. Emerson (1998) discusses the long-term detrimental impact of many medical interventions on both the physical and psychological well-being of babies and reminds us that the mother...