healing our earliest wounds - from conception to birth

Prenatal and Birth therapy provides a unique opportunity to resolve many of the traumatic issues that become imprinted early in life and can go on to affect our full development and potential as we mature.

One of the most formative experiences that we all undergo is the experience of birth. It is becoming increasingly recognised that the nature of our arrival into the world, as well as the quality of our prenatal life, is fundamental to, and may have significant impact upon, our future development.

In the United Kingdom in the middle part of the twentieth century, as the hospitalisation of birth was encouraged, birthing women were organised from the viewpoint of obstetricians and other medical practitioners. This lead to the development of birthing practises that favoured the medical professionals but actually made the birth more difficult for both mother and baby.

Later on, the active birth movement lead the way for the de-medicalisation of birth and focussed on how the mother could empower herself during her pregnancy and while she gave birth.

In recent years, health professionals in various fields of research have been considering the birth process from the baby's point of view.
This has been very challenging, especially since, as recently as 1995, most parents and health care professionals believed babies to be too small and undeveloped to be affected by their prenatal life or birth.

This new approach has been to determine the effect upon the baby of its prenatal life, the birth process and current birthing practises and how these effects may be resolved to ensure good health and optimum potential.

Our early life

Every parent must surely be aware that the conception, gestation and birth of a child are miraculous events. One needs only to look into the eyes of a newborn baby to be wonder-struck by the miracle of life.

Today, many prospective parents are taking the time prior to conceiving their child to take steps to resolve any issues in their physical and emotional well-being as well as in their relationship with each other.

They are consciously taking this time in the understanding that the more they resolve, the healthier will be their sperm and egg and the new life that results from their union.

Research has shown that this type of conscious conception, as well as active parental responsibility during gestation, can contribute to easier birthing and bonding.
Impaired bonding of the infant to its parents has been shown to be one of the major factors in the development of aggressive and violent behaviour as well as relationship difficulties later in life.

Contrary to many beliefs, bonding can, and ideally should, take place while the child is still in the womb.

In contrast to the ideal scenario, most parents do not undertake any preconceptual healthcare nor do they consciously conceive their child. The effects of this may adversely impact the baby while it is developing in the womb.

Table One lists a number of potentially damaging events that may imprint the prenate while it is still in the womb.

TABLE ONE

! unwanted pregnancy
! conception by force, manipulation or rape
! conception under the influence of alcohol, cigarettes or drugs (recreational/pharmaceut-ical)
! thinking about, planning or attempting abortion
! intrauterine toxicity (from alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, medications and strong negative emotions)
! prenatal twin loss (research has shown that up to 70% of all pregnancies begin as multiple conceptions)
! accident, illness or injury during pregnancy
! divorce or separation of parents
! death of a loved one

The Birth Process

For the first nine months of its life, a baby has been growing and developing within the relative safety of its mother's womb. As this time draws to a close, both mother and baby release certain hormones that initiate the contractions of labour. The baby, therefore, possesses an inherent wisdom as to when it is ready to birth itself. As the birth process begins, the baby finds itself squeezed, head first, through the mother's pelvis and down the birth canal.

In order for the baby to pass through its mothers pelvis, certain physiological changes need to occur. The widest part of the baby is its head. Fortunately, for both mother and baby, the head is able to mould to facilitate its passage through the pelvis. This moulding is able to take place because the bones of the skull have not yet "fused" together. They are like large plates that are floating on the membranous surface of a water-filled balloon.

As the baby begins its passage through the pelvis, the various bones of the skull move and distort in particular ways. These distortions often include one or more bones overlapping onto its neighbours. The overall effect of the birth process upon the baby, and particularly upon its head, is one of compression. New parents are often alarmed by the degree of moulding that is present in their baby's head.

Medical professionals often state that this is nothing to worry about as moulding is a natural process which will fully resolve itself in a matter of days.

It is true that moulding is a natural process and that a certain degree of resolution occurs quite quickly. However, it is often the case that due to the strong compressive forces that the baby experiences during its birth, the bones of the skull do not fully release and return to their natural position. If these bones remain locked together they will interfere with the natural growth of the skull and the brain.

The compressive forces of the birth process are often fed into the spine and pelvis resulting in a greater degree of tension and less freedom of movement in certain joints and in particular areas of the body.

These effects may have body-wide repercussions and potential long-term effects on the health and well-being of the developing child.

Many conditions that we are used to seeing described as "normal" during infancy may have their origins in the rigours of the birth process.

In fact, it would be more appropriate to describe these conditions as common, reflecting the commonality of the experience that we have all gone through, rather than normal.

To suggest that something is normal implies that it is something necessary for the baby to experience and is indicative of good health.

Typical examples of common conditions related to incomplete cranial moulding are difficulties with feeding and sleeping, constant crying, colic, ear problems, squint and other visual disturbances.

Other conditions, that may not manifest until later in life, include asthma, autism, behavioural and emotional problems, dyslexia, epilepsy, hyperactivity etc.

CASE STUDY

Sarah

Sarah, a 4 week old baby, was brought to see me suffering with severe colic. Her parents were concerned by the fact that she would scream inconsolably for several hours in the evenings, pulling her legs up into her body as she did so. Although she was breast-feeding, Sarah was unable to digest the milk when her mother ate fruit, vegetables and other foods, and was also suffering from smelly green stools. Consequently, her mother was living on a diet of dairy products and chocolate as these seemed to provide the least distress to Sarah.

Sarah's mother stated that her labour was very quick and had been induced for the convenience of the consulting obstetricians. Consequently, she felt very angry at what she considered to be the mismanagement of her labour.

Induction's generally have the result of creating more intense uterine contractions and have the potential to produce more pronounced shock and cranial moulding patterns.

This was certainly the case with Sarah. Just looking at her, I was struck by the strong asymmetry that was present, particularly in her face. By taking a light contact onto the back of her head I became aware of the strong degree of compression that was present throughout her body. Some of her cranial bones were compressed and misaligned in relation to their neighbours.

After just one session of allowing the potency to build within her system, I could feel some of the tension in her body begin to relax. Her occiput softened and there was a lengthening throughout her body as the tight soft tissues released their compressive forces.

Sarah's parents noted that the day after the treatment she had continuous bowel movements that gradually became less green and smelly. By the next time I saw her, Sarah was obviously a different baby. She seemed much more at ease and relaxed, and the powerful screaming, that was the initial cause for concern, had stopped. These improvements continued over the few more sessions that Sarah and I had together.

Assisted delivery

In many cases, interventions are used that are intended to make the birth process easier for both mother and doctor. Often, such interventions are necessary for the safety of both the mother and baby. However, interventions such as forceps and ventouse, can often create more extreme moulding patterns, body tension and shock in the baby. In these cases, it may take longer to get a resolution of the underlying problem.

I have often heard it said that baby's born by caesarean section, because they don't experience the cranial moulding from the birth canal, have an easier time and suffer less as a consequence. Indeed, many parents (especially in the USA, and increasingly so in the UK) are now opting for elective caesarean's as a way of avoiding the pain and discomfort of the birth process. Research has estimated that a caesarean section rate of only 6-8% is medically justified. This is in comparison to the UK national rate of 13% (25% in the USA).

Caesarean born babies have a different experience to vaginally-born babies. They undergo many physiological and psychological changes, over a very short space of time, as they transition from life in the womb to the outside world. They also experience a sudden pressure change as the uterus is surgically opened.

These factors can actually imprint a significant amount of shock into the baby's system albeit, in certain circumstances, without any cranial moulding.

Shock

It has been estimated that approximately 95% of all babies experience some degree of shock, whether mild or severe, at some stage during their prenatal life or their birth process. In my experience, a significant number of parents also suffer some shock during this time, and often have unresolved emotions concerning the management of their labour.

If the shock naturally works its way out of our system, then no lasting damage is done. However, oftentimes the complete discharge of this shock is hindered by external pressures and social "norms". Unresolved shock and trauma accounts for a great deal of physical, psycho-emotional and social problems.

To a birthing baby, the physical rigours of the birth process must be a direct contrast to its time in the womb. It may feel threatened by the whole process, and so it is not uncommon for newborn babies to have their muscles clenched, as if to protect themselves. At the same time, the baby may enter a state of hyperarousal, even panic. It is therefore, also common for newborn babies to be incredibly angry, frustrated or even frightened following their birth.

Many parents also report similar feelings about the way in which their birth was managed.

It is therefore the responsibility of the therapist to help the baby to safely negotiate the complete release of any imprinted shock from its early experience.

Treatment Process

These imprinted shocks are not locked away, never to be accessed. Babies and children (as well as adults) are constantly showing and telling us how it was for them in their early life.

Obviously, babies and children are not telling us a verbal story of their history but express themselves through their body and eye movements, their expressions as well as through their play.

The practitioner works by monitoring the subtle energetic and physical cues that the baby presents and responds appropriately. This work also includes hands-on craniosacral therapy when appropriate.

It is also important that the parents recognise these cues and learn how to modulate their responses to the newborn at home, thus providing self-help and care directly within the family environment.

Craniosacral therapy

Craniosacral therapy is a gentle hands-on form of treatment that works with the natural pulsatory rhythms inherent within the fluids and tissues of the body.

These various rhythms are essential to the health and integrity of all the other body systems.

Craniosacral therapists approach the body by gently placing their hands on the body to sense the underlying qualities and shapes that the tissues are holding and how they distort the primary rhythms of the system.

By using subtle responses to reflect back to the body what it is holding, restrictive patterns can be released.

Whilst craniosacral therapy is an effective treatment modality in its own right, it is only used as a supplementary tool in the arena of Prenatal and Birth Therapy.