The Maternal Womb: The First Musical School for the Baby
Fridman, Ruth
Vol. 15 (1), 2000, 23-30

This paper honors Ruth Fridman for her inspirational work teaching pregnant mothers to compose lullabies and sing to their babies and her pioneering research in revealing the important effects of the first sounds babies hear, including those their mothers sing before they are born, at birth, and as infants.

Abortion Survivors at Columbine
Sonne, John C.
Vol. 15 (1), 2000, 3-22

In an analysis of the two adolescent perpetrators of the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School, the author speculates that contrary to other theories advanced to explain their behavior, the boys match the clinical profile of abortion survivors. He bases his argument on psychoanalytic, family systems and prenatal psychology resources, predicting the increasing appearance of ever younger killers in a culture that features the multigenerational transmission of the threat of being aborted. He suggests that this insight may help us understand other examples of antisocial behavior and pathological syndromes.

The Stress Matrix: Implications for Prenatal and Birth Therapy
Castellino, Raymond
Vol. 15 (1), 2000, 31-62

Different stress matrices proposed by various researchers are compared in a conceptual model to assess trauma. In this model, the Stress Matrix is designed and explicated to give practitioners an effective way to assess the degree of shock affect or shock imprinting a client is carrying, as well as the client's therapeutic edge where he or she can face the painful memories while maintaining access to internal resources and the ability to be aware. The effects of prenatal trauma and varying degrees of severity are presented along with therapeutic models and interventions.

Obstetric Care and Proneness of Offspring to Suicide as Adults: A Case-Control Study
Jacobson, Bertil, & Bygdeman, Marc
Vol. 15 (1), 2000, 63-74

To investigate an long-term effects of traumatic birth and obstetric procedures in relation to suicide by violent means in adults, 242 adults who committed suicide by violence from ,1978-95 and who were born in 1 of 7 hospitals in Stockholm during 19495-80 matched with 403 biological siblings during the same period and at the same place, were studied. For multiple birth trauma, the estimated relative risks of subsequent suicide by violent means were 4.9 (95% confidence interval 1.8 to 13) for men and 1.04 (0.2 to 4.6) for women. In mothers who received multiple opiate treatment during delivery, the estimated relative risk of offspring subsequently committing suicide was equal for both sexes (0.26, 0.09 to 0.69).

Fetal Awareness of Maternal Emotional States during Pregnancy
Ham, John T., Jr., & Klimo, JonVol. 15 (2), 2000, 118-145
Vol. 15 (2), 2000, 118-145

To explore possible correlations existing between the primary emotional states of birth mothers during their pregnancies and subsequent awareness of these states by their offspring, 12 pairs of mothers and their offspring (aged 9-61) were hypnotically regressed to the time of the pregnancy. There were 79 identified instances of correlation derived from a content analysis of session transcripts. Findings indicated the existence of a greater consciousness in the prenate than has been acknowledged in the literature.

Healing through Prenatal and Perinatal Memory Recall: A Phenomenological Investigation
Marquez, Anne
Vol. 15 (2), 2000, 146-172

This existential-phenomenological study focused on the experience of healing through pre- and peri-natal recall. Interviews were conducted with seven adults attesting to having healed various psychological and medical conditions. All subjects related pre- or peri-natal trauma and subsequent child abuse. Data analysis revealed seven individual, two unique and two general themes. The latter included "a range of intensely felt, mostly negative, emotional, physical, or feeling states and transpersonal experiences" expressed by all participants. After treatment, all felt the mitigation of psychological and/or physical conditions they had suffered. Results imply fetal/neonatal memory/
consciousness and the need for research into the long- and short-term effects of obstetric procedures.

Does Maternal-Infant Bonding Therapy Improve Breathing in Asthmatic Children?
Madrid, Antonio, Ames, Ralph, Skolek, Susan, Brown, Gary
Vol. 15 (2), 2000, 90-117

Six mothers of asthmatic children with histories of non-bonding were treated with a therapy aimed at repairing their bonding. Four of the children were then briefly treated to repair the bond, and two infants were not treated. Eighteen variables were studied before and after the treatments. There was improvement in all 18 variables. Five children experienced complete or nearly total improvement in their breathing. The two infants had total remission of symptoms.

Treating Caesarean Birth Trauma during Infancy and Childhood - (link to Cesarean Voices website)
Emerson, William R.
Vol. 15 (3), 2001, 177-192

Twenty years of clinical and behavioral observation indicate that caesarean births cause considerable trauma to babies. The physical and psychological effects are subtle and powerful, occurring at the unconscious level of the infant psyche. Negative impacts include excessive crying, feeding difficulties, sleeping difficulties, colic, and tactile defensiveness. There also may be long-term psychological effects such as rescue complexes, inferiority complexes, poor self-esteem and other dysfunctional behaviors and feelings. This article describes the author's treatment methods for a baby girl during infancy and childhood, one of 155 infants treated for birth trauma and systematically followed through childhood. The immediate and long-range results of her treatment are described.

Hold Me! The Importance of Physical Contact with Infants
Solter, Aletha
Vol. 15 (3), 2001, 193-206

This paper addresses the beneficial psychological and physiological effects of touching, carrying, and holding infants. Through an overview of research, scientific evidence is provided that substantiates the importance of close physical contact in each of the three major states of consciousness: awake, asleep, and crying. A historical and cross-cultural perspective is also included. Implications and recommendations are drawn for child rearing by modern parents in industrialized nations.

Effects of the Firstart Method of Prenatal Stimulation on Psychomotor Development: From Six to Twelve Months
Lafuente, M. J., Grifol, R., Rios, D.
Vol. 15 (3), 2001, 207-216

This is a continuation of a paper published in Vol. 33 (3) reporting the developmental advantages found in the first semester of life in a sample of babies that had been prenatally stimulated using the Firstart program. It presents the results obtained by comparing the control and the experimental groups during the second semester of life. Although children in the experimental group are again more advanced than those in the control group, in some behaviors related to memory, fine motor activities, gross motor activities, cooperation in learning, imitation and self-recognition, the advantages at this age level are fewer than at the preceding level.

Toning in Pregnancy and Labor
Pierce, Beverly
Vol. 15 (3), 2001, 217-224

Though many birth classes teach breathing techniques intended to be performed silently, women often cope with the energy, sensation and effort of labor by vocalizing. This normal response to labor can be explored and understood in pregnancy through a practice of toning, i.e., voicing the exhalation of breath on a single pitch, using a vowel sound or a hum. Participants in the author's childbirth education classes taught this practice described their experiences with tone postpartum, pointing to physical and emotional release, self-listening and self-confidence, bodily vibration, increased ability to cope with pain, useful forms of focus, positive connection with the partner, etc.

Short and Long Term Effects on Infants and Toddlers in Full Time Daycare Centers
Brandtjen, Henry and Verny, Thomas
Vol. 15 (4), 2001, 239-286

Full-time daycare for infants and toddlers is stressful. This negative state is induced by perception of maternal rejection and abandonment, lack of an ongoing empathic dyadic relationship with the mother, and having to interact with multiple caregivers. The lack of empathic care the children are experiencing creates a growth inhibiting environment that produces immature, physiologically undifferentiated orbital affect regulatory systems and parcellation of corticolimbic circuitries. Daycare stress is activating each child's hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis on a daily basis causing a persistent overproduction of corticotropin-release factor (CRF) and an ongoing release of abnormally high levels of stress hormones such as cortisol and the catecholamines, hormones that may disrupt the neurobiological maturation of the developing brain and destroy brain cells. These stress-induced impairments are implicated in an enduring vulnerability to various later-forming psychiatric disorders such as depression, chronic anxiety, attachment disorders, dissociative disorders, learning disorders, and attention deficit-hyperactivity (ADHD). The empathic dyadic attachment and secure attachment needed for the experience-dependent maturation of the regulatory system in the orbital prefrontal cortex may not be possible in a full-time daycare setting. The infants and toddlers in daycare often develop insecure-avoidant attachment or non-attachment disorders.

Ethnic Differences with Abuse during Pregnancy on Newborn Behaviors
Lyman, Bobbi Jo
Vol. 15 (4), 2001, 287-297

This research examined what may be the earliest link in the chain of violence, the prenatal and perinatal developmental period, with mothers who experienced violence during their pregnancies. One hundred and sixty-eight mothers reporting abuse and their newborn infants from a sample of 1,226 women recruited in the Boston City Hospital Maternal Health Habits Project were studied. The results revealed that the newborns of Caucasian mothers had an increase in the level of behavioral problems of crying, hyperactivity, central nervous system depression and respiratory distress though not significantly. For Black and Hispanic mothers there were less baby problems with self-reported abuse. Several explanations for these findings are offered.