William R. Emerson, Ph.D.
William R. Emerson, Ph.D.
William Emerson holds advanced degrees from Vanderbilt and San
Jose State Universities, is author of fifteen publications and a
series of seven training videos on "Treating Birth Trauma During
Infancy," Healing Birth Trauma in Children," and "Infant and
Child Birth Refacilitation," which reflect his pioneering
approach to the early resolution of trauma. Emerson Seminars for
parents and for professionals are held regularly in several
cities in the United States, England, and Europe.
This article is reprinted from Pre- & Perinatal Psychology
Journal, Vol 10(3), Spring 1996, 125-142.
The
Vulnerable Prenate
Introduction
The prenate (i.e., the unborn baby) is vulnerable in a number of
ways that are generally unrecognized and unarticulated. Most
people think or assume that prenates are unaware, and seldom
attribute to them the status of being human. I recall a recent
train trip, where an expectant mother sat in a smoking car
filled with boisterous and noisy people. I asked her whether she
had any concern for her unborn baby, and whether she thought the
smoke or the noise would be bothersome to her unborn child. Her
reply was, "Well of course not, my dear. They are not very
intelligent or awake yet." Nothing could be further from the
truth. Theory and research from the last 20 years indicates that
prenatal experiences can be remembered, and have lifelong
impact. The major purpose of this article is to clarify the
conditions under which prenatal experiences may be lifelong and
to describe the theoretical and research perspectives that are
necessary to understand the effects of prenatal traumatization.
In addition, because the incidences of personal and societal
violence are at an all-time peak and headed higher,
Interactional Trauma
The effects of prenatal traumatization cannot be predicted
without knowledge of other factors, and prenatal experiences are
likely to have lifelong impact when they are followed by
reinforcing conditions or interactional trauma. The term
interactional trauma means that traumas interact with each other
in producing their effects. In statistical analyses,
interactional means that the effects of factors depend on the
presence of other factors. Both of these definitions communicate
the meaning of interaction as it is used in this article. For
example, it is unlikely that being stuck during the birthing
process causes claustrophobia during adulthood. However,
claustrophobia .is more likely if similar, reinforcing traumas
occur.
In one such case that I treated, a baby who had been stuck
during his birth was also locked in a closet for 24 hours as a
child, and held and choked by his brother on several occasions.
Several points are relevant here. First of all, prenatal traumas
provide 'tinctures" for later experiences. Stated differently,
life experiences are perceived in terms of prior and unresolved
traumas. When a baby is stuck during birth, the baby is likely
to perceive later events as entrapping, or to unconsciously
manipulate or choose life situations that bring about
entrapment. This process is called recapitulation. Secondly,
similar or recapitulated events, independent of perceptual
processes, are likely to reinforce prenatal traumas, resulting
in relatively chronic symptoms. In the case of the baby just
described, childhood events acted as reinforcements for the
birth trauma, resulting in chronic claustrophobia.
The Effects of Prenatal Experiences: Prenates are Conscious
Aware Beings
During the 1995 APPPAH Congress in San Francisco, David
Chamberlain shared a case that exemplifies the consciousness of
prenates. In this case, a baby was undergoing amniocentesis.
Videotapes of the amniocentesis showed that when the needle was
inserted into the uterus, the baby turned toward the needle and
batted it away. Thinking that they had seen an aberration,
medical staff repeated the needle insertion, and again, the baby
batted the needle away. There are other anecdotal reports that
babies routinely withdraw from needles as they are inserted into
the uterus. From these observations, it is safe to conclude that
babies are very conscious of what is happening around them,
particularly with respect to events that have impact on them
personally.
In her book From Fetus to Child, Alessandra Piontelli cites
several cases of prenatal awareness. She describes a twin pair,
at about four months of gestation, who were very conscious of
each other, and had periodic interactions. One of the twins was
actively aggressive, the other submissive. Whenever the dominant
twin was pushing or hitting, the submissive twin withdrew and
placed his head on the placenta, appearing to rest there. In
life, when these twins were four years of age, they had the same
relationship. Whenever there was fighting or tension between the
pair, the passive twin would go to his room and put his head on
his pillow. He also carried a pillow and used it as his
"security blanket,' resting on it whenever his twin became
aggressive. From this and other research (such as David
Chamberlain's Babies Remember Birth, and Elizabeth Noble's
Primal Connections), it seems clear that prenates are conscious
beings and that behaviors that begin in utero are also likely to
carry over into later life.
Prenatal Events are Remembered
For years, it was hard to understand how prenatal experiences
could be remembered. The central nervous system is very
rudimentary during the prenatal period, and is not fully
myelinated (covered by a protective sheath). However, anecdotal
reports of adults regressed to the prenatal period and
remembering prenatal events are common in primal and regressive
communities. In 1970 Graham Farrant, an Australian medical
doctor, began experiencing prenatal events and recording his
body experiences. He was quite astonished to discover that he
experienced most of his significant prenatal memories at a
cellular rather than a tissue or skeletal-muscular level, and he
referred to his recollections as cellular memory. In 1975 Frank
Lake, an English theologian and psychiatrist, found that
prenatal memories stemmed from viral cells, that viruses were
primitive prenatal cells that formed during trauma and carried
traumatic memories. He consistently referred to prenatal
memories in terms of cellular memories. Over the last five
years, there has been a considerable amount of research done in
cellular biology, all of it supporting the theory that memories
can be encoded in cells. The research of Dr. Bruce Lipton,
reported in the 1995 APPPAH Congress, is relevant here and
supports the conclusions of Farrant and Lake.
Prenatal Memories May Be The Most Influential
A group of European psychologists, led by R. D. Laing and Frank
Lake (both now deceased), contend that prenatal memories are the
most influential because they are the first. This perspective is
apparent in Laing's book The Facts of Life, where he sites, "The
environment is registered from the very beginning of my life; by
the first one (cell) of me. What happens to the first one or two
of me may reverberate throughout all subsequent generations of
our first cellular parents. That first one of us carries all my
'genetic' memories" (p. 30). He goes on to say, "It seems to me
credible, at least, that all our experience in our life cycle,
from cell one, is absorbed and stored from the beginning,
perhaps especially in the beginning. How that may happen I do
not know. How can one cell generate the billions of cells I now
am? We are impossible, but for the fact that we are. When I look
at the embryological stages in my life cycle, I experience what
feel to me like sympathetic vibrations in me now...how I now
feel I felt then" (p 36). Frank Lake mirrored Laing's
perspectives. Lake contended that the most formative experiences
were ones that occurred prenatally, especially during the first
trimester. In the U.S., Lloyd deMause has also written about the
social, cultural, and political influences of prenatal
experiences, and reported on these findings during the 1995
APPPAH Congress.
Prenates Incorporate Parental Experiences and Feelings
From his regressions with adult patients, Lake also found that
the most influential events were maternal experiences that
passed biochemically through the umbilical cord by means of a
group of chemicals called catecholamines, but it is also true
that prenates incorporate psychic prenatal feelings and
experiences, especially those of their mothers. Maternal
emotions (and paternal emotions through the mother's emotional
response to them) infiltrate the fetus. Research shows that what
mothers experience, babies also experience. A good example is
the following case. A woman's father died just prior to the
conception of her child. She spent the whole nine months feeling
depressed and grieving the loss of her father. If it is true
that babies experience and remember what their mothers
experience, then her baby should also have experienced loss and
depression, and these feelings would be expected to resurface
during childhood and/or adulthood. This appeared to be the case.
As a child, her baby was periodically depressed, and medical
personnel could find no physiological or psychological basis for
the depression (They were not cognizant of the child's prenatal
experiences). When the child was depressed, he would draw
pictures of old and dying men in caves (in pre- and perinatal
psychology, caves are symbolic of wombs, the place where he
experienced the loss of his grandfather). After drawing, he
would feel better for a while, but the depression would slowly
return. He was not conscious of any connection between his
drawings and his grandfather's death. The depression became
chronic when his parents were experiencing tension (his mother
and father were living separately but raising him together). The
tension symbolized the loss of his father and grandfather. His
drawings sometimes depicted a little girl frantically searching
for dying men. The little girl probably represented his own
feminine, the mother's inner child, and/or a female twin's
experience of the grandfather's loss. It is unlikely that grief
would have resurfaced as chronic depression without the
reinforcing conditions of father loss and parental discord.
It is important to realize that although prenates do take on the
prenatal experiences of their parents, they also have their own
unique experiences during the prenatal period, independent of
their parents. The mechanisms of how this works are not clear,
but numerous anecdotal reports and clinical cases show that
prenates have their own experiences. For example, I recall the
reports of a regressed child, a twin, who was repeatedly
subjected to verbal and physical fights between his mother and
her boyfriend during the prenatal period. He reported that his
mother and her boyfriend were constantly fighting, but he and
his twin would respond to this by cuddling up and rocking while
the fighting went on. During the fighting, they both felt quite
clever (to have avoided the tension) and relaxed. Perhaps the
presence of a comforting twin can make separation from parental
experiences easier.
When Reinforced, Prenatal Experiences May Have Dramatic and
Symptomatic Influences
In the case of the woman who lost her father just prior to
pregnancy, the baby presumably experienced the same loss that
his mother experienced. In addition, a very tangible and
personal trauma happened shortly thereafter. Early in the
pregnancy, when she was eight weeks pregnant, the mother's
husband abruptly left her for another woman. She was shocked by
the experience and felt deeply abandoned. Presumably her unborn
child felt abandoned as well. Because the woman had little
financial security and did not want to raise a child by herself,
she decided to abort her child.
She attempted several abortions, most often by using the hooked
or curved end of a coat hanger. As a child, her baby was
periodically sadistic and self-destructive. The manifestations
of his sadism bore a striking resemblance to his mother's
abortion attempts, although he was consciously unaware of them.
He burned himself with cigarettes and gouged private parts of
his body with sharp metal objects. His favorite sadistic
instrument was a fishing hook, but he complained he could never
buy ones that were big enough. As a young adult he was arrested
thirty times for assault, and his modus operandi was reminiscent
of his mother's attempts to abort him. He usually assaulted his
victims when they were sleeping, by using heavy braided wire
with a wire hook welded on the end!
Aggression and Violence are Pathological Symptoms Resulting from
Multiple, Reinforcing Traumas with Themes of Loss, Abandonment,
and Aggression
In the case just described, the prenate experienced the intense
loss and abandonment that his mother experienced. In addition,
he also experienced the abandonment that comes with parental
narcissism, (i.e., his mother was so absorbed in her abandonment
and loss that she had little or no cognizance of him, nor did
she have time or energy to celebrate his presence). On the
contrary, he was perceived as a burden, and as something to get
rid of Consequently, he also experienced the aggression of his
mother's abortion attempts on his life.
Prenatal and Birth Traumas Are Mirror Images
Prenatal traumas have two distinct impacts on birth. First of
all, birth is often perceived and experienced in terms of
prenatal traumatization. For example, babies who experience
abortion attempts are also likely to experience birth as
annihilative. Babies who experience near-death during
implantation in the womb are likely to experience birth as a
near-death experience. Babies who experience aggression or
violence while in the womb are likely to experience the
interventions of birth as aggressive and violent, even though
there may be no such intent on the part of medical personnel or
parents.
Secondly, as Sheila Kitzinger has documented, whenever there is
significant prenatal stress (trauma), there is an increasing
statistical likelihood that birth complications will occur. The
greater the degree of stress or trauma during the prenatal
period, the greater the likelihood of birth complications and
obstetrical interventions. This is exactly what occurred in case
of the mother whose father died just before she became pregnant,
and who attempted several abortions. The mother had a very
difficult birth with long labor and many complications. Many
interventions were used and repeated, among which were
inductions, augmentations, sedations, analgesias, anesthesias,
forceps, episiotomy, intensive care placement, and respiration.
It should be pointed out that the severity of symptoms in the
present case is due to the additional and reinforcing traumas,
all involving loss, abandonment, and aggression. When the baby
was three months old, the mother took him shopping in a
stroller, forgot that he was with her, left him in an aisle of
the store, and only realized her error hours later. In addition
to this, she had a boyfriend who was repeatedly and physically
abusive with her son during his early childhood. These multiple
and reinforcing traumas manifested in his childhood and
adulthood as aggression and violence.
Prenatal and Birth Traumas Impair Bonding at Birth
In addition to posing a risk of birth traumatization, prenatal
traumas have another and more insidious impact. When traumas
occur prior to or during birth, the quantity and quality of
bonding is radically reduced. This reduction occurs for two
reasons. The first has to do with the defensive dulling of mind
and body, a natural defense against (Bloch, 1985). This
self-anesthetization occurs because of the hormonal changes that
normally occur in the body during and after trauma and shock.
When the body and mind are dulled, and when the body is
exhausted from stress, the quantity and quality of bonding are
lessened.
The second impact has to do with the failure of parents and
others to acknowledge traumatization, which diminishes the
bonding process even further. When traumas occur, there is a
critical period of time afterward during which humans require
understanding, acknowledgment, and compassion in order for shock
to subside and healing to begin. However, it is rare for babies
to receive understanding, acknowledgment, and compassion after
their prenatal and birth traumas, simply because no one knows or
believes that traumas have taken place. As has been verified in
my own clinical research with babies, unacknowledged traumas
create distrust in babies, and this significantly impedes the
bonding process. In contrast, it is informative to witness the
level and depth of bonding in babies who have not been
traumatized, or whose traumatization is being seen and
acknowledged. The bonding is noteworthy by its depth, intensity,
and duration. One only has to witness such bonding to realize
that bonding is significantly reduced and altered by the
presence of unacknowledged and unresolved traumatization.
Lack of Bonding Predisposes the Individual to Aggression and
Violence In my work with infants over the past 25 years, I have
discovered some important interrelationships between prenatal
trauma, birth trauma, bonding, and aggression. The first
interrelationship is that birth actively impairs the bonding
process because many aspects of the birthing process are
psychologically and physically painful for babies. Medical exams
and medical tests are often experienced by babies as
unnecessary, invasive, and painful, and this is rarely
acknowledged. Medical personnel routinely separate babies from
parents after birth, and separation is often experienced as
terrifying abandonment.
Placement in intensive care is frequently experienced as
terrifying, lonely, overstimulating, and painful abandonment.
Anesthetization is particularly impactful on bonding because
residual amounts of anesthesia are common in babies, even hours
and days after birth, and anesthesia makes babies (and mothers)
numb and therefore less available to the bonding process.
Epidurals were thought to be superior to other anesthetics
because they would not inhibit the bonding process as much, but
research shows that mothers who receive epidurals show less
attachment to their babies than mothers who do not. These are
some examples of the effects of birth trauma on bonding. In all
cases bonding is affected because it is difficult for babies to
trust their parents when their parents do not accurately
perceive or acknowledge their prenatal and birth traumas. In
general, the greater the number and severity of unacknowledged
prenatal and birth traumas, the greater the impact on bonding.
Secondly, when traumas are largely untreated, the influence on
bonding is exacerbated because the traumatized infant remains in
a defensive stance with respect to the world, and does not "let
the world touch him." Many parents report to me that their
babies are very independent, but this is often a cover for
defensiveness. Such babies act as if they are OK and do not need
comforting or support. They do not easily let themselves be
comforted and held, either pushing their parents away and/or
ignoring their attempts to comfort and console them. Many times
they will only let their parents comfort them after considerable
resistance.
Third, it is important to realize that a lack of bonding may be
sufficient, in and of itself, to create aggression and violence.
This surprising fact has been brought to light by various
researchers. For example, Magid and McKelvey (1988) reported
that children with severe bonding difficulties do not develop a
conscience, and perform asocial or antisocial acts without
remorse. Felicity De Zulueta (1993) summarized research in the
field of bonding and attachment, and concluded that violent
aggression is the result of damaged bonding. She writes, "One of
the most important outcomes of...studies on attachment behavior
is the emerging link between psychological trauma, such as loss
(of a bond)...and destructive or violent behavior." She
concludes that the more damage that is done to bonding, the
greater the likelihood of aggression and violence during
childhood and adulthood. Fourth, it is clear from the
observations of clinical researchers that the probability of
societal aggression and violence are increased greatly by the
presence of aggression or violence during the pre- and perinatal
periods of development. Prenates pick up on aggressive and
violent energies, and are likely to repeat what they experience
in their prenatal life space.
What Kinds of Pre- and Perinatal Experiences Underline
Aggression and Violence?
As a way of determining the prenatal, etiological bases for
violence and aggression, I posed a basic question to a number of
experts in the field, among whom were R. D. Laing, Frank Lake,
Barbara Valassis, Barbara Findelsen, Stan Grof, Michael Irving,
and others. I asked them to report on the kinds of regressive
experiences that their aggressive and violent patients had
uncovered and/or reported, and that were central in the success
of treatment. Among their varied responses were common threads
of consensus, among which were: (1) pre- and perinatal
experiences were paramount in aggression and violence; (2)
childhood experiences seemed to reflect and reinforce prenatal
traumatization; (3) aggression and violence were related to the
severest levels of pre- and perinatal trauma; (4) consistently
related to aggression and violence were themes of loss,
abandonment, rejection, and aggression; and (5) certain pre- and
perinatal traumas were consistently related to aggression and
violence. These experiences are described below.
In reading through these experiences, it is important to
remember several basic principles, references above. First of
all, multiple prenatal traumas are more likely to result in
violence and aggression than single traumas. Secondly, bonding
deficiencies are directly related to aggression and violence.
The greater the degree of bonding deficits, the greater the
likelihood of violence and aggression. Third, prenatal traumas
that involve loss, abandonment, or rejection are more likely to
impact bonding than other traumatic themes, and are also more
likely to result in the complete absence of bonding than traumas
involving other themes. Finally, the direct exposure to
aggression and violence during the prenatal period is highly
predictive of violence and aggression during adulthood. The old
adage, "Children learn what they live," is relevant here. Like
children, prenates "learn what they live," and prenates
subjected to aggression -and violence are likely to manifest the
same in their adult lives.
Conception
When clients who have problems with aggression and violence are
regressed, they frequently encounter the experience of
conception. They report that they are conscious of traumatic
issues outside of themselves, in their family or immediate
surroundings. The most frequently mentioned traumas involved
forced sex, manipulated sex, date rape, rape, substance abuse,
physical abuse, dismal familial, social, or cultural conditions,
and personal or cultural shame, such as when children are
conceived out of wedlock. They often experience biological
encounters as sperm and/or eggs which involve intense
aggression, annihilation, death, power, and/or rejection. To
cite an example of traumatic conception, one child was conceived
out of wedlock in a small religious community where such things
were disdained. Her mother experienced shame, guilt, and public
ridicule before deciding to "keep her," and the child
experienced the same guilt, shame, and ridicule that her mother
did. The public ridicule was experienced as particularly
annihilating and hostile. This led to character patterns of
self-righteousness, self-ridicule, masochism, and hostility.
Implantation
Implantation is the biological process whereby the conceptus
attaches itself to the uterine wall, and is a vital and
precarious stage of embryological development. Prior to and
during implantation, regressed patients report that they
experienced the terror of being near death. They report feeling
unwanted and that they have no place to go, no place to belong,
and 'decide' that the world is a hostile and unsafe place. They
often collapse in hopelessness, retaliate in rage, fluctuate
between these two extremes, and/or manifest intense rescue
complexes (the need to rescue others and/or be rescued).
Christ's life was, in many ways, a metaphor of implantation.
There was "no room in the Inn," and He had no place that He
belonged. And as the Bible declares, His life was manifested in
order for Him to save and rescue mankind.
Many individuals with problems of aggression report the loss of
a twin. Their problems with aggression typically have to do with
masochism and/or neurotic self criticism. Embryological research
indicates that loss of a twin may be much more likely than
previously thought. Embryologists estimate that between 30% to
80% of conceptions are actually multiple (i.e. twins) rather
than single. Since the rate of birthed twins is far less than
30% to 80% percent, embryologists conclude that many conceptions
involved the death of one or more twins. This can be prior to or
during implantation, although some happen after implantation.
People who experience the loss of a twin manifest several common
dynamics. First of all, there is an ineffable but profound sense
of loss, despair, and rage. These feelings are usually held in,
but are sometimes acted out against others. Secondly, there is a
chronic but unarticulated fear that loss will happen again, and
pervasive insecurity. The threat of loss is defended against by
distancing from others, or by engaging in codependent
relationships. Third, the ability to bond with others is
deficient or neurotic because there is a lack of trust in
relationships, or disbelief that relationships will last.
Fourth, there is often an over compliance in life, based on the
unconscious feeling that "if I don't do what is expected or
wanted, I will die." Over compliance feeds hostility and
aggression toward others, since one cannot take care of oneself
when constantly complying with others. Finally, prenatal
experiences of near death and/or loss are sometimes turned
against oneself or others, resulting in sadistic and masochistic
behaviors, criminal violence, or sadomasochistic thinking and
behavior.
Discovery of Unwanted Pregnancy
When aggressive clients regress to the prenatal period, they
frequently and spontaneously regress to the time the pregnancy
was discovered, and many of them are surprised to find that they
were unwanted. The discovery of being unwanted typically leads
to the realization that lifelong episodes of depression,
self-destructiveness, or aggression are a direct expression of
prenatal rejection. They typically report that they can trust
only themselves, and that their whole lives have been geared
toward denying or finding the acceptance and love that they did
not receive as prenates. The percentage of aggressive clients
who were unwanted at the time of discovery is quite high, and
has important implications for bonding disorders. Typical
responses to being unwanted are to collapse into helplessness
and hopelessness, to rage at others and the world's injustice,
and/or refuse to engage in life.
Prenatal Aggression
The majority of adults with problems in aggression learn that
they were unwanted at the time of discovery, but many of them
also learn that they were exposed to other forms of aggression
during the pre- and perinatal period. Some common forms of
aggression are warfare, gang fights, domestic violence,
conception through rape, physical or sexual abuse of parents or
siblings, annihilative energies, intrauterine toxicities, and/or
abortion attempts. Prenates who experience one or more of these
aggressive conditions are at risk for manifesting aggression and
violence, and the greater the number of conditions, the greater
the likelihood of aggression and violence.
Adoption
Adoption trauma refers to a broad range of painful experiences
that are common to adoption. When children are adopted, they are
more likely to have experienced some level of abortion
trauma--there may have been direct attempts on life, abortion
plans with no attempts, or abortion ideations but no plans. All
of these are traumatizing to varying degrees. In addition they
are likely to have experienced discovery trauma (child unwanted
at the time of discovery), conception trauma (child unwanted at
time of conception), or psychological toxicity (child exposed to
mother's annihilative or ambivalent feelings, or to
socio-cultural shame).
Adoption trauma has many different levels. The lowest level
occurs when parents want their children but reluctantly give
them up for adoption because external circumstances dictate. A
higher level occurs when parents do not want their children and
seriously consider abortion. The highest level occurs when
parents are unequivocally opposed to having children, when
pregnancies are resented, when abortions, are attempted, when
children are put up for adoption, and when children are fostered
a number of times. At high risk for aggression are children who
experience the severest levels of adoption trauma.
Pre- and Perinatal Medical Procedures
When prenates experience severe forms of traumatization, as
described above, they are also likely to perceive subsequent
events in similar contexts. This is especially true when
subsequent events are stressful life transitions (such as birth,
adolescence, first jobs, new relationships, etc.), and/or when
subsequent events are symbolically similar to traumatizing
events. For example, if prenates experience prenatal violence,
then they are likely to experience life transitions (such as
birth) in violent ways. Freud called this process
recapitulation. Among other definitions, recapitulation means
that prenatal experiences shape how subsequent life experiences
are perceived.
The following case is an example of a mother who had only
limited prenatal traumas, but which nevertheless influenced her
baby's perceptions and experiences of the birthing process. The
mother was 28 years old, and had never attempted to conceive a
child. Her own mother had had difficulty conceiving children, so
she was anxious about her ability to conceive. She wanted to
have a child, and in spite of being unmarried, conceived a child
with her boyfriend, who was also ambivalent. They conceived
after much effort, whereupon the boyfriend turned brutal and
violent against the mother and her baby (it was later discovered
that the boyfiiend's father had been abusive to him during the
prenatal period). A series of beatings occurred, after which the
mother fled. She spent the remainder of her pregnancy in a
distant and safe place, under conditions that were close to
"ideal." She was attentive to herself, her body, and to her
baby. She meditated daily and earned income from work she did at
home. She had an extensive and supportive family system as well
as friends, and the remainder of the pregnancy was uneventful in
terms of other stresses and traumas.
She devoted time to her unborn baby every day, talking and
singing to him, and doing bonding exercises. She gave birth at
home, and described the birth as short and simple, with no
complications. In spite of having a largely positive pregnancy
and an easy birth, the early abusive experiences haunted her and
her baby. In particular, her baby experienced the birth as very
traumatic. (This is not an unusual event, even when mothers
describe births as simple and uneventful). This was evident in
childhood memories of his third trimester and birth. He
experienced his mother's jogging during the third trimester as
abusive, saying that his head bounced painfully on his mother's
pelvic bones. He experienced the perineal massages (given
repeatedly during birth) as intrusive, and the contractions as
abusive and violent. He was aware of his mother's physical pain,
felt the birth was hurting her, and felt guilty that he could
not protect her. In short, all of his birth feelings appeared to
be overlays and manifestations of his unresolved abuse traumas
from the first trimester. It is important to realize that, even
more so than children or adults, prenates perceive and interpret
life experiences in terms of past experiences. This is so
because prenates do not have sufficient neurological integrity
or adequate life experiences to assist in discriminating between
current and historical realities.
When prenates experience abandonment, rejection, violence, or
abuse, as has been described in this paper, they routinely bring
these experiences to bear during the birthing process.
Amniocentesis needles and chorionic villae catheters are
commonly perceived as aggressive, annihilating, and/or rejecting
instruments. Anesthetic procedures are often perceived as
attempts to disempower or to poison (a reflection of abortion
trauma). Augmentations (inductions and "breaking waters") are
usually experienced as boundary violations. Forceps and vacuum
extractions are often perceived as attempts to control or
annihilate. Contractions are often perceived as attempts to
annihilate, destroy, or impede. For example, one adult who had
been exposed to chemical and mechanical abortion attempts (his
mother had taken low-dose cyanide pills and repeatedly pummeled
her abdomen and uterus) experienced contractions as attempts to
beat him to death, and experienced anesthesia administrations as
attempts to poison him.
It is vital that medical and obstetrical personnel understand
the importance and relevance of pre- and perinatal traumas, and
understand that babies are likely to experience the birthing
process in terms of prior traumatizations. This means that birth
can be very traumatic, simply on the basis of personal history.
If this fact were known, then medical interventions could be
limited to situations where they were absolutely necessary, or
medical interventions could be humanized in a variety of ways.
Some useful procedures might be asking the permission of babies
to implement procedures and getting responses through the
mother's intuition, letting babies know that they might
experience pains and discomforts, and empathizing in terms of
prior traumas, letting babies know that birth is a difficult
transition with the potential for negative and overwhelming
feelings and acknowledging babies post-birth emotions as
legitimate expressions of a difficult birthing process"all this
could help to minimize potential trauma. It is also important to
acknowledge the positive aspects of birthing, the wonder and joy
that belongs to the birthing process. Few births are entirely
difficult, and few are completely free from trauma or pain. We
need to acknowledge the whole gamut of human experiences as they
unfold during the birthing process.
Treatment
It is important that pre- and perinatal traumas be treated as
early as possible. This is so because, as previously discussed,
early traumas shape how subsequent events will be perceived and
experienced. If treatment occurs early on, during gestation or
the first year, then childhood experiences can be freed from
prenatal influences, and children can live their lives
unencumbered by the bonds of trauma. The effects of trauma have
been described elsewhere (Emerson, 1992, 1994). Unresolved
traumas affect the spiritual and psychological development of
children. In contrast, children who had no trauma, or whose
traumas have been resolved, are clearly unique in the following
ways. They are more spiritually evolved, manifest higher levels
of human potential, and are developmentally precocious. They
exhibit higher self-esteem and intelligence test scores, and
they are more empathic, emotionally mature, cooperative,
creative, affectionate, loving, focused, and self-aware than
untreated and traumatized children (Emerson, 1993).
The fact that pre- and perinatal traumas shape how subsequent
life events are experienced does not mean that childhood
experiences, in and of themselves, are unimportant in terms of
human development. On the contrary, childhood experiences are
very important in determining and shaping who children will
become. It is precisely because childhood experiences are so
important that it is vital to free childhood from the bonds of
pre- and perinatal trauma. If these traumas can be resolved
before childhood, then childhood has the opportunity to be
experienced on its own, without traumatic influence from the
prenatal period, and without the defensive forces that inhibit
feelings of safety, security, and growth. Furthermore, children
can be freed to exhibit and manifest their own unique human
potential, to utilize their own inherent levels of intelligence,
and to, become themselves, unencumbered by prior traumas.
In addition to these benefits, society can be freed from the
increasing burden of aggression and violence. According to
statistics reported at the 1995 APPPAH Congress, violence and
aggression are on the rise, and are reaching epidemic
proportions. Therapists who specialize in anger resolution
report that about one client in five carries a significant
degree of anger and rage. Aggression and violence are on the
rise, and are extremely costly in terms of human lives, in terms
of financial and budgetary considerations (prisons, jails, and
law enforcement are very costly, and deprive our school systems
of needed finances), and in terms of the safe and efficient
functioning of our institutions. These violent feelings are
directed toward self and others, and are very difficult to
resolve for the following reasons. First of all, most therapists
do not realize that anger and rage, at their deepest levels, are
caused by pre- and perinatal traumas, and are related to
perinatal bonding deficits.
Secondly, most clinicians fail to realize that anger and rage
cannot be resolved solely by talking therapies. Instead, anger
and rage require physical and emotional release. Third, anger
and rage are inextricably intertwined with low self-esteem,
shame, guilt, disempowerment, and forgiveness. These concepts
need to be understood and recognized in the treatment of
aggressive disorders. Finally, the ultimate resolution of rage
and anger requires that relevant pre- and perinatal traumas be
uncovered, encountered, catharted, repatterned, and integrated
into consciousness. Additional aspects of treatment should
include opportunities for re-bonding, i.e., for bonding in ways
that were impossible at the time of traumatization, or bonding
in ways that were inhibited by unresolved traumas. The
Association for Pre- and Perinatal Psychology and Health, the
International Primal Association, The Star Foundation, and
Emerson Training Seminars have personnel and lists of
professionals who do such work.
References
Bloch, G. (1985). Body & Self. Elements of Human
Biology, Behavior, and Health. Los Altos, CA: William Kaufmann,
Inc.
De Zulueta, F. (1993). From Pain to Violence. London: Whurr
Publishers.
Emerson, W. (1994). Trauma Impacts: Audio taped presentations.
Seattle 1992, Petaluma 1992, and March 1993. Emerson Training
Seminars.
Emerson, W. (1995a). "The Vulnerable Prenate." Paper presented
to the APPPAH Congress, San Francisco. Available on audio tape
from Sounds True (303) 449-6229.
Emerson, W. (1993). "Treatment Outcomes," Petaluma, CA: Emerson
Training Seminars.
Emerson, W. (1995/1996). Treating Birth Trauma During Infancy. A
series of five videos. Available from Emerson Training Seminars,
Petaluma, CA: (707) 763-7024.
Laing, R. D. (1976). The Facts of Life. New York: Pantheon
Books.
Magid, K., and McKelvey, C. (1988). High Risk: Children Without
a Conscience. New York: Bantam Books.
Editor's Note: Readers may be interested in an
earlier article by Dr. Emerson, "Psychotherapy with Infants and
Children" published in the Pre- & Perinatal Psychology Journal
Vol 3(3), Spring 1989. This article includes drawings made by
children in the course of treatment. The author invites email
addressed to starvapor@aol.com.
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