From Womb to World – A conscious look at our earliest experiences!
How many of you know about your time in the womb? Were you planned or a surprise? What was life like for your parents around the time of your conception?
It’s most likely that you know some information about this time of your life, but may have never thought to ask much more. We just don’t seem to think that it is relevant or important, as we don’t remember our life as a baby.
Or do we?
I was lucky enough to recently spend 3 days with Dutch born Anna Verwaal, who has researched the field of Pre and Perinatal Psychology for more than three decades, and now travels from country to country, sharing her knowledge and experiences regarding the journey we take from womb to world.
Her incredible insights into the consciousness of babies alerts us to the fact that we do not always consider the baby’s journey, not just through the way we are born, but from as far back as pre-conception, conception itself, and the whole 9 months that we marinade in the flavours of our mothers womb.
She tells us, that what a mother eats, drinks, feels and experiences in her environment has a direct impact on her offspring. That the body holds a memory of our earliest experiences, and these are all about what happens to us before we have even taken our first breath.
This information can be incredibly useful to us in our every day lives. If we are able to learn more about our time in the womb, and how we were born, it could help us to understand why we have certain patterns of behaviour, or why we may unknowingly be carrying alot of baggage from our family lineage.
Examples of circumstances around the time of conception that may affect us are:-
Baby’s conceived by accident
It is often the case that babies who were unplanned may tend to be more accident prone. Their clumsy nature is no surprise as they often lack confidence.
Baby’s conceived after loss/grief
If a previous pregnancy had resulted in loss of any kind, or a family member died around the time of conception or during the pregnancy, the next baby can often grow up to be very sensitive to sadness. This can be a burden for those children and adults, as they feel they have to constantly make people happy.
Baby’s who were not wanted by one or both parents
These babies often feel rejected in life. They become people pleasers, and are very sensitive to people who are exposed in the media (for example). If they went on to be adopted, they may describe themselves as feeling invisible.
Examples of what may have occurred during birth:-
Induction
Babies who were born when the labour was induced, have a sense that they came before they were ready. They may become resentful of authority, and have a poor sense of timing, often arriving late. They have trouble starting a project, but will not like to be helped. They dislike things happening that they were not involved in.
Cord around neck
If you were born with the cord wrapped around your neck, you may have a dislike of wearing scarves or ties. If it was particularly tight, which may have made the cord too short to be born vaginally, you may feel that moving forward is dangerous. If your oxygen levels were compromised, you may feel like you are choking when under pressure.
Mother made to wait to push
If the baby is ready, but the mother is told to wait, or is unable to feel an urge to push due to having an epidural, they may grow up to feel very held back in life. They have a particular dislike of being held back by an outside source, and they don’t like anyone to be treated unjustly.
Premature baby
A baby that was born prematurely, may grow up to dislike being touched without warning or permission. This is most likely due to the fact that as tiny as they were, the only time they were touched, was to have something painful done to them.
Caesarean section
These babies may grow up to have a high need to be touched quite roughly/firm. They may feel that things are their fault, and they will have a high need to be rescued. For babies that began labour themselves, but then a decision was made for them to be born by csection, they may be left with a feeling that they had been robbed of their power. They were doing so well, and then they were yanked out without realising what was happening.
Forceps or vacuum extraction
A common trait for babies born who may have got stuck, is a sense of helplessness, and they may have difficulty finishing things.
Babies who were suctioned at birth
Babies who were suctioned, and had their umbilical cords cut immediately, are more likely to suffer from asthma. They may need to use their inhalers to give them oxygen, as they had not established a good breathing pattern at birth before their lifeline was cut, and they felt very stressed.
Babies experiences after birth
Babies were also routinely separated from their mothers. Of course we know that with animals, if anyone else touches or interferes with their newborns, it can cause rejection. The natural bonding process must take place, unaffected by intervention, for the mother to take on the responsibility for caring and feeding each one of her young for them to survive. So with humans, when they are removed from their mother, it can also affect bonding. The natural hormones that we release are not present, and this can affect the relationship between mother and child for a lifetime.
Another sad fact, is that up until recently, it was believed that babies don’t feel! Anaesthetics had not been considered necessary for infants undergoing surgery. Hospital delivery rooms, obstetrical instruments, and medical routines were all designed before babies were thought to have senses, and thus with no regard for babies’ comfort. Babies were left to lie on hard, flat surfaces, and were under bright lights, with lots of noise going on around them. The procedures that were done to them were incredibly painful and traumatic.
Consciousness is the key to unravelling
Anna warns, If you are able to find out about your own time from conception to birth, do so without judgement.
Discovering your story and identifying any patterns of your own behaviour that make you who you are is not about blame. It should be seen that any information you discover can be used as an opportunity to grow.
It also means that now our eyes are opened, we know that we all have a responsibility to make sure that when we are with friends or family who are trying to conceive, or those who we know are already pregnant, that we are able to make sure that during this incredible time in their lives, that they are nurtured and loved.
If we are able to encourage women during pregnancy to communicate with their babies in times of difficulty or stress, the babies will grow to be happier, with a more developed brain, making them more capable of loving, and that by bringing a little more consciousness to a babies journey from pre-conception to birth, can move us from a world which is surviving, to a world which is thriving!
You can listen to Anna’s TED talk here:- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZ6gLGCy84o
Recommended websites for more information on this subject.
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