Journal Abstracts
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As we become more familiar with the continuum of disturbances that are understood as Borderline Personality Disorder, we have come to know more about how the illness affects-and is affected by-other family members. Much less clear is our understanding of what can be expected in the life course of a person reared by a borderline parent. This paper offers a glimpse of that world, by way of reporting on the extreme anxiety and depression experienced by four women-each of whom appears to have been the child of a borderline mother-upon the birth of their babies.
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Perinatal factors were used to predict childhood emotional/behavioral disturbance using a discriminant analysis. A cross validation procedure was employed showing that 20 of 26 factors studied contributed to the separation between groups at clinical levels of accuracy. Frequencies, percentages, and relative risk factors were calculated for each perinatal factor and for the discriminant function. Results were used to argue to a multivariate approach in the examination of a relationship between perinatal events and development of emotional/behavioral disorders in children and adolescents.
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The meaning and usefulness of the concept of cross-cultural childbirth is questioned in this paper. Intracultural variations within Southern African Black women's experiences of childbirth are utilized to explore the validity of the cross-cultural concept. The question of universality or diversity of birth experiences is discussed. Possible universal elements of birth are suggested while factors determining variations in these experiences are proposed.
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At birth mother and infant are in a common state of "kinesthesia." This constitutes a "kinesthetic bond." It results from the motion tracking between mother and child throughout the pregnancy. They feel each others' motion by means of touch through the uterine wall. If the sensory information they use to define their relationship is disrupted by physical separation after birth, before other sensory modes of relating are established, the relationship may suffer.
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Exposure to anxiolytic drugs during the third week of gestation in the rat leaves a lasting imprint on the organism. Functionally, animals exposed prenatally to diazepam (Valium) demonstrate alterations in arousal-attention and stress-related functions. Neural systems underlying these functions are also influenced by the early exposure. The effects of early diazepam exposure are related to the interaction of the drug in utero with specific binding sites in the fetal brain.
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Prenatal psychology is able to shed light on various experiences which appear to be creative mechanisms for coping with difficult situations of transition in life but which on closer inspection also seem to be re-enactments of pre-birth feelings and of birth itself. The symbolism of regression to the womb and of rebirth can be found in various cultural phenomena such as puberty rites, shamanism, the myths of great heroes, fairy tales, sacrificial rituals and initiation fights.
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The functional role of sex and pregnancy in transgenerational Satanic Cults is described and contrasted with its purpose in "normal" social groups. These observations are based on the reports of former Satanic cult members who are now being treated for some type of dissociative disorder. In "normal" social groups, the primary functions of sex and pregnancy center on perpetuating the gene pool of group members. In Satanic cults, however, the primary function of sex is to form a bond between some type of painful stimulation and physical pleasure.
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During the 1960's, abdominal decompression during pregnancy was thought, on the basis of poorly controlled studies, to confer exceptional intelligence on the fetus. A carefully controlled study subsequently showed that this was not the case. Mothers who had received decompression treatment tended to give manifestly unrealistic accounts of their children's abilities, and their children differed temperamentally from the control group.
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The following problems are the leading questions of our research project: (1) Can the influence of maternal emotions upon fetal behavior be established in the prenatal period, using real-time ultrasound echography and cardiography? (2) Is the prenatal influence, established in the prenatal period, reflected in the neonatal behavior? And can we find significant correlations between maternal emotions during pregnancy on the one hand and neonatal and infant behavior-e.g.