Psychosocial Variables Predict Complicated Birth
Lewis E. Mehl-Madrona, M.D., Ph.D.
Vol. 17(1), 2002, 3-28

The purpose of this study was to assess the possible contribution of psychosocial factors to birth outcome, through prospective assessment prior to delivery. Four hundred, eighty-six consecutive pregnant women in their first or second trimester were enrolled along with their partners; interviews were conducted with the benefit of physiological monitoring and a variety of psychological measurements. Seven categories of psychosocial variables emerged with stability and reliability. Two psychological factors--fear of birth and support from the woman's partner--most strongly discriminated between the uncomplicated and complicated birth outcome groups. The authors conclude that psychosocial factors do influence birth complications and attention to reducing their impact could potentially improve birth outcome. Obstetrical care providers should no longer ignore these factors.

Father to Son: A Chronicle of Your Life Before Birth
George Grider
Vol. 17(1), 2002, 29-40

This chronicle is what one father wrote for his son, offering a world of personal information about himself, his wife, and his culture embracing the courtship, conception, and important events of pregnancy leading to his birth in the late 1960s. The Editor sought this story in the hope it would inspire other fathers and mothers to share similar priceless information with their own offspring about their common life before birth.

Predictors of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Following Abortion in a Former Soviet Union Country
Mufel, Natalia, Speckhard, Ann, and Sivuha, Sergei
Vol. 17(1), 2002, 41-62

One hundred and fifty women who had abortions in Belarus (former Soviet republic) were interviewed regarding reproductive history, decision-making and psychological outcomes. Positive and negative responses (including PTSD, guilt, grief, depression, anxiety/panic and emotional numbness) were assessed during the interview with the Impact of Events-R Scale to objectively measure aspects of PTSD. It was hypothesized that a portion of the sample would evidence PTSD with recognition of life, wantedness, and age, all predictors being recognition of the life of the fetus, attachment, time since the abortion, and number of weeks of pregnancy.

Specificity of a Mother's Attachment to her Child using the Attachment Inventory and Factors Related to Attachment
Junko Tsujino, M.A., Mayumi Oyama Higa, D. Eng., and Tadashi Inuihara, M.A.
Vol. 17(1), 2002, 63-84

The subjects of this study were 83 mothers, who responded to questionnaires during the following five phases of their child's life: the fetal, neonatal, and one-, two-, and three-year-old phases. Using the prenatal and maternal attachment inventory, this study clarifies items related to groups of mothers with high and low attachment to their children. Seven items in the inventory for attachment to an unborn fetus were related to high and low maternal attachment from the neonatal phase to the three-year-old phase of the child's life. These items included such statements as, "I plan the things I will do with my baby." Six items were related to high and low maternal attachment to children throughout the observation period. These items included such statements as, "I'm proud of my baby (child)." It was found that high and low maternal attachment to children is related both to maternal attitudes toward the child in infancy and to levels of anxiety in the mother. It was also found that the strength of a mother's attachment to her child is strongly related to the level of care she extends to the child and to her degree of anxiety.

Primal Health Research: Four Essays
Michel Odent, M.D.
Vol. 17(2), 2002, 103-126

I. The Primal Period of Spiritual Heros
II. The Long Term Consequences of How We Are Born
III. Gaps in Primal Health Research
IV. How Effective is the Accordion Method? Evaluating our Preconceptional Programme

The Origin of Anxiety: A Synopsis
Franz Renggli, Ph.D.
Vol. 17(2), 2002, 127-142

For thousands of years, in all developed societies throughout the world, mothers have been separated from their babies - as an emotional adaptation to a life of alienation. The first advanced civilizations which can relate this to us are the Sumerians - and their successors the Babylonians. Five thousand years ago they developed the cuneiform writing system and then recorded the oldest stories in the world. I understand their mythology as the 'great dreams' of these peoples. In the stories which tell of the great goddess Inanna and her 'baby' Dumuzi, these early separation dramas are described with impressive imagery. At a deeper level, the heroic battles are interpreted as a symbolic representation of birth: at the end of a struggle beyond the limits of human imagination, the dragon or monster is beheaded: the umbilical cord is severed, the baby is born. But this enormous battle is not the end of the myth. There are also tales of the gods that actually tell what a baby experiences in its mother's womb. The Sumerians are the first culture to write of these dramatic events. Based on these wounds from pregnancy, birth and infancy, they invented more and more new pictures and stories, to make these early traumatic experiences understandable. As I believe, to calm the people of that time. These interpretations are the key to understanding the mythology of other cultures, but also to understanding the hidden pre- and peri-natal aspects of our own dreams.

This research focuses on post traumatic stress disorders which arise after childbirth and adds to the literature on psychological post partum diseases. The hypothesis of this study was that psychological expression of negative emotions could reduce the occurrence of stress symptoms after labour and delivery. A group of 64 women with a healthy pregnancy was examined. Half of them were asked to express their emotion experienced during labour and delivery through a written account. The results indicated a significant difference in the number of post traumatic stress symptoms between the two groups, underlining the positive effect of the emotional disclosure.

Tobacco Abuse in Pregnancy
Robert J. Oliver, M.D., Ph.D.
Vol. 17(2), 2002, 153-166

Nicotina Tobacum with its 4,000 additives remains the most injurious addiction to the pregnant woman and her baby. At the discovery of being pregnant 60% of women will quit and 40% will continue throughout the pregnancy. For those 40% tobacco's chemicals will be absorbed into mother's blood, and the baby will be bathed in these toxins. There will be 144,000 spontaneous abortions (approximately 14.6% of all pregnancies), a weight deficit of almost one pound, a loss of 50 I.Q. points in the baby, and affective disorders programmed in the innocent fetus. This article reviews the evidence-based literature regarding findings about tobacco's products and their effect on gestation.

Parents' Touch of Their Preterm Infants and its Relationship to Their State of Mind Regarding Touch
Sandra J. Weiss, PhD, DNSc, FAAN and Peggy Walsh Goebel, RN, DNSc
Vol. 17(3), 2003, 185-202

This study examined differences between mothers and fathers in how they touched their preterm infants and the relationships of parental touch to infant gender and to the parents' state of mind regarding touch. There were no differences in the ways that parents touched boys versus girls or in their use of nurturing and stimulating touch. However, fathers touched their infants more frequently than mothers and in more complex ways. A father's experience with touch in his family of origin was related to the ways he touched his infant although evidence of these intergenerational effects was not found for mothers. For all parents, their personal satisfaction with the touch they experienced in their current lives was associated with the ways they touched their infants. However, results suggest that mothers and fathers have different psychological strategies for grappling with their own perceived tactile deprivation or abuse from touch.

Transpersonal Dimensions in Healing Trauma of the Unborn Child
Catherine Anne MacLean, Ph.D.
Vol. 17(3), 2003, 203-224

This article explores the nature of the unborn child's transpersonal dimensions, including pre-existence, reincarnation, development of the body in utero, prenatal memory, and role at birth. Ancient to modern texts, research and casework are sources of perspectives mentioned. The paper addresses what may be happening in the pre/perinatal experience as well as what can happen in one type of therapy, (i.e., EMDR, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), to facilitate healing of pre/perinatal trauma. Concluding comments will reflect an adult client's transpersonal experiences and spiritual unfolding rendered during therapy for healing pre/perinatal trauma.

Assisted Reproductive Technology: Psychological Effects on Offspring
Tara Maria A. Blasco* and Thomas R. Verny, M.D.
Vol. 17(3), 2003, 225-234

This paper will briefly describe the Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) techniques used currently, study the psychological impact of ART on the offspring, and consider ways in which more consciousness can be brought to artificial conception.

Psychophysiological Resilience: A Theoretical Construct Based on Threat Perception and Early Programming of Restorative and Arousal Based Adaptive Mechanisms
Dorothy Marie Mandel
Vol. 17(3), 2003, 235-250

Why can some people be exposed to toxins, stressors, or traumatic events and be significantly less affected than others? The author conducts a review of research, constructs a theoretical model psychophysiological resilience, and examines the impact of prenatal and early childhood events on the formation of neural regulatory circuits. Psychophysiological resilience involves psychological, physiological, emotional, and spiritual resilience. Research is cited to support the theory that events occurring during gestation and birth offer clues to sustained adaptive programming that supports species preservation. Research relating the impacts of adaptive vs. maladaptive neurodevelopmental programming on currently relevant issues including psychosocial violence, functional intelligence, and somatic disease processes is cited. Emerging research on the role of the heart and the use of guided imagery and Heart Rate Variability (HRV) biofeedback in rebuilding physiological and emotional adaptive processes of resilience is articulated.

Undisturbed Birth: Nature's Blueprint for Ease and Ecstasy
Sarah J. Buckley, M.B., Ch.B.: Dip. Obst.
Vol. 17(4), 2003, 261-288

When a woman labors and gives birth without disturbance, her body produces peak levels of birthing hormones. These include oxytocin, the hormone of love; beta-endorphin, hormone of pleasure and the body's natural analgesic; adrenaline and noradrenaline (epinephrin/norepinephrine) hormones of excitement; and prolactin, the mothering and breastfeeding homrone. This paper outlines current knowledge of the functions, and interconnections of these hormones, and the hormonal interferences caused by medical interventions, in particular, induction and augmentation (acceleration), opiate and epidural pain relief, cesarean surgery, and early separation of the mother and baby. The author argues that an undisturbed birth creates maximum ease and safety for mother and baby, as well as making birth a potentially ecstatic experience.

Tracing the Roots of Panic to Prenatal Trauma
Franz Renggli, Ph.D.
Vol. 17(4), 2003, 289-300

This paper gives a brief history or prenatal and perintal psychology, defines panic, then describes panic in relation to the prenatal and perinatal experience. Finally several case studies are offered.

Violence and Pregnancy: A Whole-Self Psychology Perspective
Jon RG and Troya GN Turner
Vol. 17(4), 2003, 301-320

This paper focuses on violence as pathology occurring primarily during pregnancy and explains the resulting impact on one's life. It addresses this specific theme, and does not include the violence found in some medical birth procedures, or violence generated by gender. This paper is based upon a presentation by the authors in March 2001, at the OMAEP [World Organization of Prenatal Education] & ANEP [Association of National Prenatal Education] Congress in Puerto la Cruz, Venezuela., entitled "Violence & Pregnancy." This congress brought together leading experts from South and North America, and Europe.

Childbirth Meditation and Advanced Natural Childbirth
Robert Newman
Vol. 17(4), 2003, 321-332

Meditation, childbirth meditation, and advanced natural childbirth are defined. The medical paradigm has been expanding, allowing meditation to be seen as an increasing medical and psychological resource in the West. This has resulted in inevitable influence on childbirth. The physiological and psychological benefits of meditation pertaining to pregnant women who meditate are described. Research on the various meditation hormonal benefits and immune enhancement is summarized. The benefits of meditation impacting the labor process are described. An expanding vision of childbirth anatomy is described in the context of meditation methods designed specifically for childbirth. Directions for childbirth meditation research are discussed.