Sharing Space To Be or Not to Be: Prenatal Origins of the Existential “Yes” v. the Self Struggle

Lifelong effects of conflicted pregnancy are explored from the perspective of the
“mistakenly” conceived baby and the adult he/she becomes. Braiding current and classic
research with her experience as an adoptee, the author focuses on first trimester influences
upon an individual’s predisposition toward optimal growth versus chronic existential
struggle. Examples of stage-specific first-trimester imprints; discussion of reward circuitry
damped through adaptive mutation; relevance to adoptees’ heightened psychosocial
vulnerability; “perception hygiene” and healing; and implications for abortion are offered.
The conclusion spotlights a potent avenue of hope (as in Pandora’s unpacked scary box)
abiding as a developmental substrate and healing resource.