Your Unborn Baby’s Early Experiences
Shaping Development Through Connection
Becoming a mother is a sacred time in a woman’s life. Throughout her pregnancy she is ripe for the cultivation of her intuition, which naturally leads to an opportune time to grow inward and connect and listen to her innate truth and wisdom. At the same time, her unborn baby is growing outward, physically, mentally, and emotionally within the womb. Both the mother and her unborn baby are innately aware, sensitive and conscious beings, from the very beginning of their lives.
The holistic, leading-edge discipline of prenatal and perinatal (PPN) psychology is an interdisciplinary study of the foundations of health in body, mind, emotion and spirit within relationship4. This discipline explores our earliest development from pre-conception through early infancy and the profound influence of this early period across our lifespan3,4. Over 30 years of clinical research findings indicate prenates (unborn babies) and babies are much more conscious and aware, and able to communicate more meaningfully and learn more intensely from the beginning of life than traditionally thought1.
It is believed that prenates and babies are developing their beliefs about themselves and about the world from the moment of conception and these beliefs are imprinted into their Being1,3. When we recognize and realize how conscious, sensitive, and aware prenates and babies are and how impressionable their early experience is, the importance of creating and maintaining their sacred space and the safety they feel within it, becomes clear. By respecting their awareness and sensitivity we support individual health, happiness, and wholeness1,2.
Becoming a mother can be both exciting and scary, especially when expecting the first baby. This is uncharted territory during a very vulnerable period of time in a woman’s life. She must learn to slow down, listen deeply, and yield to the unknown. Acknowledgement of her own uniqueness and connection to her true self can empower her to trust her innate wisdom and continue to grow inward toward her sacredness.
When an expectant mom is living from a connected place inside, then she is in relationship with her innermost qualities that are healthy, happy, and part of being a whole person. By also supporting and helping prenates and babies function from the inside out rather then primarily, having to react to the outside world and accommodate; we can help them stay connected to their whole being, and empower them to be their true selves1,2.
Pregnancy provides an optimal time for a woman to honor the art of slowing down her daily tempo. This is essential for both mom and her baby’s health and well-being. Prenates and babies need a slower pace than adults in order to not become overwhelmed or over-stimulated1,2. The Western culture often requires us to function at a pretty fast pace. Unfortunately living in a chronic state of, overwhelm and over-stimulation can be a reality that many of us experience. Although we may have learned to cope and adapt to these states, it will take a toll on our health and well-being overtime. If moving at a fast pace has become the norm, then slowing down can initially feel uncomfortable.
Slowing down is an invitation to turn inward, connect to our true self, and listen to our innate wisdom, which often produces a sense of warmth and well being. The art of learning how to be relaxed, present, and in our body while pregnant can be a great practice for future challenges, such as when the baby is upset and crying and we are struggling with limited sleep.
You can apply the following exercise while you are pregnant, as well as once your baby is born. The more you practice the easier it will be to apply on a regular basis.
When you feel yourself accelerating, getting anxious, or feeling scattered:
- Pause, place one hand on your heart center the other hand on your belly and connect to your physical body by feeling the movement of your breath beneath your hands.
- Acknowledge what is happening for you and for your baby.
- Slow down, take a few deep breaths in and out. Imagine your heart center was a nose and you are breathing in and out through your heart center; let it flow all the way into your belly to support your baby.
- Notice where your attention is and bring it back within yourself. Inhaling appreciation and peace, exhaling any stress and fear that does not serve you.
- Reorient and relate from this place with your baby.
- Then acknowledge to your baby what is happening in the present moment.
By allowing yourself a few moments each week to reflect on what you are feeling, thinking, and experiencing can strengthen the connection with yourself and with your unborn baby. Remember that the essential concept is that the more we can learn how to be present, relaxed, and centered in your own bodies, the more prenates and babies can then stay oriented, connected, and present with theirs1,2. From a holistic perspective, an individual’s health and well-being is an active relational process that involves honoring the fact that we are all feeling, remembering, communicative, and aware beings throughout our life span.
References
1. McCarty, W. A. (2004). The call to reawaken and deepen our communication with babies: What Babies are teaching us. International Doula, 12 (3).
2. McCarty, W. A. (2005). What babies are teaching us: A collection. Santa Barbara, CA: WB Publishing.
3. Ridgway, R., & House, S. H. (2006). The unborn child: Beginning a whole life and overcoming problems of early origin. NY: Karnac.
4. Santa Barbara Graduate Institute (2007). What is prenatal and perinatal psychology?
Academic Catalog. Santa Barbara: CA.