Nurturing the Unborn Child: A Nine Month Program for Soothing, Stimulating and Communicating With Your Unborn Baby
By Thomas Verny, MD & Pamela Weintraub.
Delacorte Press, 1991, 219 pages
Review by Pamela Shrock, MPH, Ph.D., FACCE.
As the practice of obstetrics becomes more scientific, and more technology is used throughout pregnancy and birth, there seems to be a lessening concern for the emotional and spiritual dimensions of human existence. Medical management has improved, but expectant couples have few means to channel and cope with the intense emotions that accompany their pregnancy. Expectant couples for the most part seem unaware of the potential for their own emotional growth during the childbearing year as individuals and as a couple, and, through "making contact" with their unborn child, for the emotional growth of their child while still in the womb.
In Sigmund Freud's day, emotional or personality development was believed to begin when a child is 2-3 years old. In the 1960s and 1970s the concept of "bonding", or establishing contact between mother and child soon after birth, brought thoughts of emotional growth into the delivery room, and the "experience of gestation" was seen as a starting point for personality development. With the advent of ultrasound, scientists could observe the unborn child in utero. More importantly, the intuitive feelings of attentive mothers-to-be, and the "way out" writings of Thomas Verny, MD in his book with John Kelley, "The Secret Life of the Unborn Child," were substantiated by observations on the ultrasound screen. Babies in utero have definite sensory capabilities and respond to sounds, touch, visual stimuli, and taste. Research has also provided much evidence to confirm long held beliefs that the fetus does indeed respond to it's mother's emotions, and to her behaviors, such as patting her belly, poking at a leg or foot, and singing or dancing.
In his new and remarkable book, "Nurturing the Unborn Child," Thomas Verny, psychiatrist and founder of the Pre- and Perinatal Psychology Association of North America (PPPANA), has teamed up with Pamela Weintraub, a senior Editor of Omni magazine. Together they have provided a very readable and practical guide for expectant couples to encourage the emotional development of their unborn child throughout the pregnancy. Besides providing information about fetal perceptions at each stage of development and practice exercises to nurture that development, Verny and Weintraub also give excellent instructions to expectant parents on how to increase awareness of their own feelings, to reduce their anxieties, and to learn new ways of interrelating with both one another and their child.
Verny's nine-month program of Womb Harmonics exercises, as he calls them, is well organized and the instructions and information are given in a clear, concise manner. Each month of the pregnancy is covered in depth and summarized in terms of the changes in mother and baby. There is a great variety of creative exercises for heightening self-confidence, promoting relaxation, and for communicating in loving ways with the fetus through physical contact or visualization. Other activities are also suggested that help the couples express their thoughts or feelings about the pregnancy and boost their morale with positive affirmations.
This book is a valuable asset for the expectant couple, and one I would heartily recommend. Couples may find the variety of exercises overwhelming, but should remember that they only need do what appeals to them. The authors have certainly provided enough to appeal to many different tastes.
Health care professionals and educators can also gain deeper insight into the emotional aspects of pregnancy through reading this book and hopefully will become more sensitive and gentle in their care of expectant couples and of the unborn. Childbirth educators will find innumerable ideas for visualizations, affirmations and relaxation with which to invigorate their classes.
