by: Jessi Hafer

Consider the facts of birth in the U.S. (See the first installment of this article in the August 2008 issue of The Undercurrent):
•The low level of midwife involvement as compared to other industrialized nations
•The high C-section rate (38% in Fresno)
•The high maternal death rate
•The high newborn death rate
•The high price tag
•The high rate of usage of the labor inducing drug Pitocin, which can start a domino effect of unnatural interventions that, while important for the small percentage of complications, are often unnecessary. Consider that the drug’s manufacturer, currently JHP Pharmaceuticals, notes in their own materials that Pitocin is not for use to electively induce labor: “IMPORTANT NOTICE: Elective induction of labor is defined as the initiation of labor in a pregnant individual who has no medical indications for induction. Since the available data are inadequate to evaluate the benefits-to-risks considerations, Pitocin is not indicated for elective induction of labor.” (http://www.jhppharma.com/products/pitocin.html)

Consider also the equally concerning statistics about childhood in the U.S. (Takikawa):
•The U.S. uses 80-90% of the world’s Ritalin
•The suicide rate for children ages 5-17 is twice as high for the U.S. as it is for other countries (and just coming to terms with the fact that that there is a suicide rate for 5 year olds is upsetting enough)

While Ritalin and suicide certainly depend on a multitude of factors, a strong case can be made that for every person, it all starts at the beginning—at birth. The documentary What Babies Want: An Exploration of the Consciousness of Infants compellingly argues that birth and childhood are connected. While it sounds overwhelmingly like common sense, a look at the U.S.’s attitudes and behaviors towards infants and children shows that such recognition has not commonly been weaved into our practices and habits.

David Chamberlain notes that the common opinions about babies (opinions driven by infants’ obvious limitations in language, size, and muscle power) assume incapability. “Probably the most damaging myths about newborns are those about their brains.…For a hundred years this assumption [that the newborns’ brains are poorly developed] has governed both medicine and psychology, supporting abuses in obstetrics and pediatrics that are accepted as a normal part of birth. Without a brain, babies could have no experiences, accumulate no history, possess no self-consciousness or intelligence—in effect, could not really be present.”

Recently, though, psychological and medical studies are challenging that and show that babies do a lot of thinking. They lock their eyes on human faces, and they recognize the voices of their parents (even when they previously heard those voices only from the womb). Chambarlain observes that “newborns listen intently to their mothers reading stories and prefer to hear again those heard weeks before birth.” According to studies of brain waves, babies dream more than adults, and scientists’ meticulous observation of infant body movements and facial expressions during dreaming shows that they act and look just like adults do when dreaming. “How could they dream without thinking?” Chamberlain asks.

Chamberlain says that the myths about babies’ brains and thinking power justifies keeping newborns in hospital nurseries and away from their mothers, when usually being with the mother immediately after birth is important for the baby’s health for a number of reasons. “From its mother the baby receives antibodies to ward off infections, as well as individual attention not available in a nursery. Lying next to mother helps the baby regulate its own body temperature, metabolic rate, hormone and enzyme levels, heart rate, and breathing. Separation of mothers and newborns is a physical deprivation and an emotional trial.” (Chamberlain, page xix) Important bonding occurs immediately after birth, and the human contact can lower stress hormones (the contact is also good for the mother, helping to prevent hemorrhaging). Hospital protocol can unnecessarily disrupt bonding while creating risks. As argued in What Babies Want, normal healthy babies do better in their parents’ arms.

The importance of the nature of birth is underscored by “birth memory,” the ability to remember birth through hypnosis or psychological breakthroughs in therapy. Birth memories have included labor experiences, treatment from hospital staff, and what their parents said and did. Chambarlain (a psychologist) studied and researched this for 13 years starting in 1975, spurred by over 100 of his clients’ birth memories (many are recounted in The Mind of Your Newborn Baby—some are happy, some are very sad). From his extensive research, Chambarlain concludes that “Babies welcomed at conception, prepared for during pregnancy, and gently birthed into loving hands begin life positively. They look out at the world with immense interest and curiosity, act as if they feel safe, and make a solid connection with their parents.” (Chambarlain, page xxiii)

The documentary What Babies Want shows the birth memories of a few children. One little girl used doll furniture to recreate the hospital room scene the day she was born with amazing accuracy to the unique details of the day. A couple of twins were observed interacting with one another in the womb at 20 weeks gestation. As toddlers, their favorite playtime activity was for each to get behind a sheer white curtain, and then reach their hands out towards each other, brushing through the curtains. The scene was hauntingly and beautifully similar to their observed interactions before they were born.

What Babies Want summarizes that babies want to be loved and respected as human beings from the start. Full support of the mother and the child during pregnancy, birth, and during the child’s first three years is incredibly important, and from the beginning, babies want to be treated like people. To honor this, African spiritual teacher Sobonfu Some has traveled through Western Europe and the U.S. to share the rituals of her native Dagara Tribe of Burkina Faso. What Babies Want shows her conducting a tranquil Welcoming Ceremony for a couple of yet-to-be-born babies and their mothers. In a quiet forest setting, two pregnant women and their yet-to-be-born children were honored through ritual that simultaneously honored community and life itself. It also emphasized the baby as an entity before birth. The gifts of acknowledgment and community of the Welcoming Ceremony outshined anything you see purchased for the baby showers more common in our culture.

The “enlightened” baby shower attendee is thus conflicted: you don’t want to estrange yourself or miss an opportunity to show your love and/or support for expecting friend or relative, nor to you want to overstep your bounds, but you’re uncomfortable with the status quo. The “enlightened” expecting parents may still feel certain obligations to their friends and family, and they have busy lives to attend to in the meantime.

But damn it—who knows how many of our current social ills can be corrected or at least bettered if we could all just ensure these basic things, a good beginning for everyone and the recognition that the infant is a person (duh!). It’s worth a shot. The information is out there. These are empowering moments for the mother as well as the infant/person to be. That makes these empowering moments for our community.
*****

References:
Chamberlain, David (1998). The Mind of Your Newborn Baby. Berkeley: North Atlantic Books.
JHP Pharmaceuticals. www.jhppharma.com/products/pitocin.html
Takikawa, Debby (Director) (2004). What Babies Want: An Exploration of the Consciousness of
Infants. Beginnings, Inc: A Resource Center for Children and Families. www.whatbabieswant.com