Perinatal Stress Reduction, Music and Medical Cost Savings
Schwartz, Fred J.
Vol. 12 (1), 1997, 19-30

The author uses his experience as an anesthesiologist involved in music medicine to discuss the psychophysiology of perinatal stress. The use of music as an adjunct to medical care for mother and child in the prenatal and postnatal period, as well as the implications for improved outcome and medical cost savings are addressed. The importance of the fetal auditory environment as a conduit for communication and learning is also examined.

Anesthesia for Neonatal Circumcision: Who Benefits?
Van Howe, Robert S.
Vol. 12 (1), 1997, 3-18

As the medical myths used to justify the practice of neonatal circumcision have each been disproven, the latest myth used by circumcisers to perpetuate the surgery is that the use of topical and local anesthetics "eliminates" the pain of neonatal circumcision. While some interventions have reduced the amount of crying during the procedure, it is not clear whether topical or local anesthetics reduce pain substantially, and their impact on stress seems minimal. The author questions their routine use if they are not effective for the baby as perhaps serving some function for the circumciser and the parents.

Alternative Therapies: Incorporating the Ancient Practice of Yoga Postures
Rhodes, Jeane Marie
Vol. 12 (1), 1997, 31-38

This article unites yoga, specifically the postures and therapeutic techniques in a holistic approach, to a therapy that includes an understanding of birth and prenatal experience. Research with 22 children involved videotaping them while performing a series of five selected yoga postures. Their birth stories were then collected through interviews with the child, parents or another person who had been present at the birth. Analysis of the data resulted in identifying specific elements in the performance of the postures that could be perceived as clues to the child's prenatal and birth experiences. The proposal is put forth that yoga postures have the potential to activate birth memory in the body and can be used both diagnostically and therapeutically in dealing with prenatal and birth issues.

APPPAH: At the Healing Edge
Verny, Thomas R.
Vol. 12 (2), 1997, 47-50

This address presented the Hawaiian program for social change called Healthy Start that has been extremely successful in identifying pregnant women at risk for becoming abusive or neglectful parents and providing support. The address identified other hopeful signs that the field of pre- and peri-natal psychology is advancing in more mainstream venues.

Early and Very Early Parenting: New Territories
Chamberlain, David B.
Vol. 12 (2), 1997, 51-60

In the Western world, the beginnings of parenthood have been obscured by the pervasive materialism of medicine and psychology which doubts the cognitive status of neonates and denies the human aspects of fetal behavior. This has led to confusion about the nature of parenthood and when it begins. What as currently referred to as "early" parenting begins at birth, which is nine months too late, in the author's opinion. If discoveries in prenatal psychology are to be taken seriously, early parenting begins after conception, and very early parenting begins before it.

Magic Babies
Sonne, John C.
Vol. 12 (2), 1997, 61-88

The author presents a thesis that babies are conceived psychogenetically at the same time that they are conceived physically. The manner of their conception becomes an "unthought known" element of their being. The term "magic babies" has been chosen to indicate babies produced by various reproductive technologies. The implications of reproductive technology for the welfare of the babies and the larger society is discussed. Relations between the production of electronically operated toy babies and magic babies are presented.

Prenatal University: Commitment to Fetal-Family Bonding and the Strengthening of the Family Unit as an Educational Institution
Van de Carr, F. Rene, & Lehrer, Marc
Vol. 12 (3-4), 1998, 119-134

This paper reviews The Prenatal University prenatal stimulation program designed to: 1) create an interactive relationship between parents and the developing fetus, and 2) reinforce a "preconscious awareness of the environment" by the developing fetus. Prenatal stimulation allows bonding with both parents and strengthens familial bonding through interactive communication. Prenatal stimulation introduces an associative learning process that may impact fetal development through stimulation of auditory, tactile, and spatial senses beginning at 20 weeks of gestation; more complex musical tones and verbal stimulation are introduced at 32 weeks. Follow-up interactions with parents and infants support the program's assertions and cite the long-lasting affects of prenatal stimulation upon subjects as they grow into childhood. (Reprinted and revised from Vol. 3 [2], 1994).

Prenatal Infant Stimulation Program
Panthuraamphorn, Chairat
Vol. 12 (3-4), 1998, 135-162

A prenatal stimulation program designed to contribute to the quality of mother-child bonding and to enrich fetal life was created and administered to 12 pregnant women who were compared to 12 pregnant women in a control group. The program consisted of massage, breathing exercises, relaxation, visualization, sensory stimulation of the mother, and auditory, tactile, visual, and vestibular stimulation of the prenate. Head circumference one and two months after birth was significantly larger for infants in the stimulation program compared to the controls, and they tended to score better on gross and fine motor skills, personal-social development, and language skills than a representative sample of Bangkok infants.

Environmental Influences on Human Brain Growth and Development
Panthuraamphorn, Chairat, Dookchitra, Dawiep, Sanmaneechai, Manit
Vol. 12 (3-4), 1998, 163-174

In a study designed to create an enriched environment for prenates by minimizing environmental stressors and substituting a positive, stimulating milieu, we designed a program that would reduce maternal stress with visualization and relaxation exercises, encourage mother-child bonding through prenatal communication and interaction exercises, and pleasantly stimulate prenatal auditory, tactile, visual and vestibular processes. Results from 150 pregnant women in the enrichment program compared to 100 pregnant women in a control group showed that infant head circumference as an analog of brain development in the enriched group was significantly larger than those in the control group. Moreover, most dimensions on the Denver assessment scales showed earlier acquisition of gross and fine motor skills, language, and personal-social development by the enriched group compared to sample norms of Bangkok children.

Claira: A Case Study in Prenatal Learning
Sallenbach, William B.
Vol. 12 (3-4), 1998, 175-196

Historically, most studies of prenatal learning have centered upon contingency reinforcements, habituation responses, and developmental outcomes. Very little research has examined the learning process during the prenatal period. This case study examines the behavioral responses of one prenate to an experimental curriculum. Significant movement responses are noted. The responses appear as an organized pattern which would imply that the prenate is capable of progressing from generality and abstraction to specificity and discernment in the learning process. This learning process may well be unified, organized, and amodal in nature. Movement patterns imply that higher order variables help govern learning and are critical in the emergence of mental schema and regulations. Results from this study suggest that at the prenatal level, the beginning of cognitive schemes and regulations in mental operations exist. Responses during the prenatal period are compared to later developmental trends in infancy. (Revised and reprinted from Vol. 9 [1], 1994).

Effects of the Firstart Method of Prenatal Stimulation on Psychomotor Development: The First Six Months
LaFuente, M. J., Grifol, R., Segarra, J., Soriano, J., Gorba, M. A., & Montesinos, A.
Vol. 12 (3-4), 1998, 197-208

This paper explores the effectiveness of the Firstart prenatal stimulation method applied to a sample of maternity patients, with 71 women in the control group and 101 in the experimental group. Both groups were enrolled in the birth preparation course offered at the hospital. In addition, those in the experimental group wore a waistband equipped with small speakers connected to a tape recorder which played a series of eight tapes of violin sounds. Mothers exposed the unborn babies to an average of 70 hours of music from about 28 weeks to the end of pregnancy. After birth, mothers used F. Secadas's "Observational Scale of Development" to chart the onset of behaviors from 0 to 6 months. On 22 items of the scale, behaviors of the experimental group babies were significantly advanced compared to those of the control group in areas such as gross and fine motor activities, linguistic development, some aspects of somato-sensory coordination, and certain cognitive behaviors. (Reprinted and revised from Vol. 11 [2], 1997)

A Controlled Experiment in Prenatal Enrichment with 684 Families in Caracas, Venezuela: Results to Age Six
Manrique, Beatriz, Conasti, Max, Alvarado, Maria Adela, Zypman, Monica, Palma, Nelly, Ierrobino, Maria Trinidad, Ramirez, Irama, & Carini, Daniela
Vol. 12 (3-4), 1998, 209-234

Based on systematic measurement of experimental and control group participants from birth to age six, the authors conclude that a program of prenatal stimulation intervention beginning in the fifth prenatal month produces significant improvement in newborns, their mothers, and in family solidarity. All the parents in this study of 684 families lived in poor ghettos of Caracas. Annual measurements reveal that the infants receiving the extra care and attention maintained a consistent lead in development throughout the six-year testing period. Because of these positive findings, the government has begun to implement the program in its maternity centers throughout the country.

Prenatal Receptivity and Intelligence
Chamberlain, David B.
Vol. 12 (3-4), 1998, 95-118

This article places the beginnings of research in prenatal stimulation in a historical context with the larger movement of infant research surrounding it. Of particular interest is the evidence for prenatal intelligence, here organized around new definitions provided by Richard Sternberg and Howard Gardner. This evidence provides parents with additional reasons to begin communication with prenates as soon as possible and provides psychologists with additional reasons to formulate a larger paradigm to describe the true nature of prenates.