I am preparing to address a large conference of women who are doulas. They already know more about childbirth and caring for mommies and babies than I do, but it is possible that I can provide some information that augments their experience. One of the slides I plan to present is one that lists a few beliefs that most, if not all, prenatal and perinatal psychologists support.
Babies are conscious—even in the womb! One place to look for information about this is in the books of doctors Thomas Verny and David Chamberlain. Both agree and have taught for decades that babies in the womb are conscious and aware. Another place to look is the website www.birthpsychology.com that is filled with articles on the psychology of childbirth. It also has a link to their magnificent educational program called the classwomb! A special component of this program, “The Conscious Baby,” is being developed and will be available soon.
Everything the mother thinks, feels, ingests, and breathes is transmitted to her unborn baby! Again, the books and websites I’ve mentioned are full of supportive data, especially evidence-based research that provides examples of how the mother/baby dyad interacts. Of course, most of us know that a mother’s thoughts and feelings precipitate hormones in her body that, in turn, impact her unborn baby.
Every intervention employed by doctors, nurses and midwives, indeed everyone in the baby’s environment, is perceived by the baby, before, during and after the birth. Babies are extraordinarily awake and aware while they are developing. As we respect these little ones, especially while in utero, they flourish and grow into individuals who know they loved.
These impressions are imprinted at a cellular level. It is our imprints, made during the vulnerable early days of our development, from conception through our first years, that determine how we think about the world. We in the field are learning more every day about how this occurs and how our beliefs about ourselves and the world stem from our earliest impressions. Our self-esteem—or lack of self-esteem—grows out of how we are treated from our beginnings. Those impressions stay in our consciousness, whether we are aware of them or not.