(Note: It is labor cesareans, not non-labor cesareans, who are primarily discussed in this article. Non-labor cesareans have less sense of an uncompleted birth canal journey as they didn't even start it! --Jane English)
ABSTRACT: Twenty years of clinical and behavioral observation indicate that cesarean births cause considerable trauma to babies. The physical and psychological effects are subtle and powerful, occurring at the unconscious level of the infant psyche. Negative impacts include excessive crying, feeding difficulties, sleeping difficulties, colic, and tactile defensiveness. There also may be long-term psychological effects such as rescue complexes, inferiority complexes, poor self-esteem, and other dysfunctional behaviors and feelings. This article describes Emerson's treatment methods for a baby girl who will be referred to by one of her initials, M. She was treated during infancy and childhood and is among 155 infants treated for birth trauma and systematically followed-up on through childhood. The immediate and long-range results of M's treatments are also described.
Introduction
M's case was selected for this article because the treatment procedures
are representative of those commonly used, and her outcomes are
also typical. She was evaluated for birth trauma during infancy,
using behavioral and symptomatic observations. Once trauma was
detected, she was treated with birth-simulating massage, a gentle
and baby-friendly process that helps infants connect with birth
memories. Birth-simulating massage is a pleasurable and relaxing
process for babies with no birth trauma, and a pleasurable but
gently activating process for babies with birth trauma (the massage
process is therefore diagnostic of birth trauma). During her birth-simulating
massages, M was continually monitored for signs of resistance
or refusal, and was continually offered other choices such as
breast or bottle feeding, rocking, gazing at interesting mobiles,
playing with rattles, and exploring interesting objects. Later
as a toddler and child, she was re-evaluated for any remaining
birth trauma and treated with a series of birth games.
Birth games are created in conjunction with birth-traumatized children and their parents, are designed to meet the developmental needs of children, and are conducted in ways that make children feel safe (safety promotes depth of exploration). The games are designed to be fun, to allow for exploration, and to promote self-discovery. They are also designed to lead children to the edges of their birth memories and provide them with options to accept or decline these memories at any time. Children are continually offered other choices such as playing in sand trays, drawing pictures, making clay figures, working in playhouses, or engaging in playful activities. The most common birth games are the following:
These and other games like them are very effective, and when they are used, it is common for babies and children to recall sensations and emotions associated with their births. Sometimes sensations are out of proportion to the level of simulation, which is always gentle. For example, children who were delivered by forceps may report "painful and clamping" pressures on their heads during birth games, even though only gentle feather-tip pressures are used. They may also fail to contextualize or interpret the clamping pressures in terms of their instrument-assisted deliveries. In either case, treatment procedures are modified to lessen the degree of pressure and to provide contextualization. Gentle emotional releases combined with successful completion of games are considered important aspects of the treatment process. So is child-centered control. Babies and children are always "in charge" during birth games, and games are stopped or altered in the direction of their wishes, the moment that subtle or overt signs of resistance or refusal are noted.
M was offered a variety of games to play and she usually chose tunnel games, going under her parent's arched bodies (as described above) or through tunnels made of chairs and couches, placed in rows. While she consistently chose tunnel games, she was also ambivalent about them. She would consistently go around, over, or partially through them with hesitancy and anxiety (babies who are not traumatized have no such difficulties). Eventually she crawled completely through a birth tunnel, but it took her eight sessions before she did so.
Cesarean babies need the experience of crawling through birth tunnels because their own efforts during birth were frustrated and/or unsuccessful. Success or failure around birth underlies important life attitudes later on. Success breeds the attitude of success, and failure the attitude of failure. In one study, cesarean born children were found to use the words "I can't" four times more frequently in their daily language than vaginally born children (Emerson, 1993), resulting in less confidence and lower self esteem. M's healing required that we acknowledge and support her efforts to successfully navigate birth tunnels, that we understand and empathize with her reluctance and her fears, and to we contextualize their origin in the birth process.
M's cesarean birth was unplanned. Unplanned sections are usually more traumatizing than planned ones because they occur when births deviate from established norms and when there are significant birth complications. The birth was extremely stressful and difficult for M's mother. She was in the hospital for three days. During the first nineteen hours of labor, she failed to dilate fully and was in extreme pain, which made her anxious and frightened. After many more hours of excruciating labor, she was administered an epidural to reduce the pain.
Cervical dilation arrested at 8 cm and labor was augmented with pitocin, however no further dilation occurred. M's mother became exhausted and she agreed to a cesarean section. During the birth, fetal distress occurred and M aspirated fluids. Immediate suctioning of M's airways resulted in active infant cries. M weighed 8.5 pounds with an estimated gestational age of 40-41 weeks.
After birth, M's parents were concerned about a number of symptoms: her relative lack of eye contact; her tactile defensiveness (she recoiled from certain kinds of touch, even though it was gentle and loving); her nocturnal awakening (two to three times a night); and her breastfeeding difficulties (it was difficult to breastfeed her because of constant agitation). M was first seen for treatment at three weeks of age and received ten weekly sessions.
The Treatment Model: Essential Conditions
The treatment model for cesarean birth trauma is the same used
for all birth traumas, incorporating certain conditions essential
for successful treatment:
Establishing boundaries requires special care, and the following conditions are routinely followed: 1) practitioners clarify the verbal and non-verbal ways that clients, especially babies, communicate resistance or refusal; 2) practitioners are taught to accurately perceive signs of resistance or refusal, with special training for non-verbal signs in babies; and 3) clients are given a special language phrase which indicates their desire to stop, and are assured that this phrase will be honored without exception (for example, children are usually given the phrase "1, 2, 3, stop"); practitioners are taught to stop treatment whenever boundary communications occur, and to modify any subsequent process in line with client's wishes (in the case of babies, in line with parent's wishes). The overall aim is to access painful memories while fortifying the client's ability to maintain boundaries and control the treatment process. Whenever M communicated resistance to a particular therapeutic technique, her treatment was immediately stopped and modified in some important way, usually by changing the technique or reducing its intensity.
When treating birth trauma, it is important that techniques be gentle and respectful, especially with infants and children who are often vulnerable, compliant, and less able to stand up for themselves than adults. In addition, infants and children have primitive psychological defenses, and are less able to defend themselves against psychological pain than adults. For these reasons, treatment procedures for infants and children emphasize choice, self control, and empowerment. If treatment is conducted properly, with enough support for feelings and defenses, then infants and children will ordinarily lead the treatment process and initiate treatment procedures that re-stimulate birth memories. They do so by pointing to or rubbing trauma sites on their bodies, rubbing places that were wounded or bruised during birth, re-enacting the movements and postures of birth, and/or initiating techniques used in prior sessions.
M's Birth Trauma Symptoms
Tactile Defensiveness
Tactile defensiveness is defined as a resistance to touch. Birth
is a highly tactile experience for all babies, and when touch
is associated with trauma it results in a certain kind of ambivalence
or defensiveness toward touching. This is particularly true for
unplanned (sometimes called emergency) cesarean sections where
complications are typical, risk factors are high, and interventions
must occur in a short period of time to assure the health and
safety of the baby. In such situations, handling by medical personnel
may be the first kind of touch that babies receive, and it is
likely that the quality of touching may not be as gentle as newborns
require. This is corroborated by the descriptions of cesarean-born
adults, who report that they experienced their first touching
as sudden, hurried, rough, or painful. As a result, cesarean-delivered
babies may dislike or withdraw from touching or cuddling, may
be sensitive to touch on the head, torso, or feet, and may be
anxious about physical contact with their parents.
M exhibited many of these symptoms. She was sensitive to being picked up and to being held firmly by her parents. When they attempted to pick her up and hold her, she would typically tighten up, twist away, or cry. She recoiled when many areas of her body were touched and was particularly sensitive to being touched on top of the head. The heads of cesarean delivered babies tend to be most sensitive when labor has occurred and when the pelvis is unyielding during labor, such as in cephalo-pelvic disproportion (the diagnosis in M's birth).
A good example of tactile defensiveness occurred during the sixth session. Gentle contact was made with M's head, using the amount of pressure that one would use in pushing a paperback book across a table. The intention was to comfort her, and babies who are not traumatized experience gentle cranial contact as soothing and pleasurable. But this was not the case with M. She exhibited severe agitation and she spit up, illustrating the severity of her birth traumatization.
Breastfeeding Difficulties
While breastfeeding, M would grow agitated and squirm, kick, turn
away, and cry. Such difficulties are common in babies with fluid
traumas. Fluid traumas occur when fluids are ingested or aspirated
(i.e., inhaled via primitive breathing reflexes) during or after
birth. Ingestion and aspiration may be terrifying to many babies,
and if so, they are likely to become anxious and distracted when
subjected to fluids during infancy and childhood. This is because
liquids symbolize and trigger traumatic memories of fluid trauma
during birth. Other symptoms include resistance to water on or
around the face, a dislike of bathing, and difficulty with breast
or bottle-feeding.
This was the case with M. When she initially encountered her mother's nipples, particularly when there was an ample supply of breast milk, it restimulated memories of fluid ingestion and aspiration. M's breastfeeding difficulties were also exacerbated by her tactile defensiveness.
Treatment Techniques
Cathartic Techniques
In M's case, six cathartic and three empowerment techniques were
used. The six cathartic techniques were trauma posturing, birth
simulating massage, section lodging, section dislodging, section
rotating, and section lifting. All of these involve gentle simulations
of the birth process. For example, section lifting was carried
out by placing M on a floor mat in a prone position and progressively
lifting M's head and torso off of the floor and into a sitting
position, with her buttocks remaining on the mat throughout the
lifting. Each time she showed the slightest agitation, the lifting
was stopped until she was ready to progress. At several places
in the lifting, she became highly agitated and cried. She exhibited
the deepest catharsis (she cried the hardest) during the section
lifting, deeper than in any other technique, and she also expelled
fluids and mucous. The expulsions represented her body memories
from birth when she aspirated and ingested fluids. After the section-lifting
was completed, there were dramatic changes in her presenting symptoms.
In particular, her breastfeeding difficulty ceased altogether,
and her tactile defensiveness diminished greatly.
Empowerment Techniques
In order to heal birth traumas, babies need to undergo corrective
experiences which allow them to use their bodies in confident
ways. This process is called empowerment. Empowerment first involves
the identification of specific movement patterns that were impotent
or ineffectual during birth. Parents and practitioners next help
infants and children articulate powerful movement patterns and
also aid them as they push through simulated birth tunnels. In
M's case, her legs were rendered useless during birth because
her leg-pushing could not result in any significant descent. In
addition, she pushed between rather than with contractions, a
relatively ineffectual process. Empowerment of M's legs involved
the following techniques. Her legs were massaged so she could
clearly feel them, and she was then encouraged to push down her
mother's legs, which were slightly inclined and covered with massage
oil. Every push, no matter how minute, was acknowledged and acclaimed.
Gradually she began to push with her legs. When leg-pushing became
stable, gentle simulations of contractions were applied to her
chest, and she was asked to leg-push while the "contractions"
were in progress. Gradually she learned to push when "contractions"
were applied.
Three other empowerment techniques were also used with M, focusing
on her arms and hands, her torso, and her gross motor movements.
At birth, M's hands and arms were pinned down and unable to ward
off the grabbing and lifting that occurred during her section
delivery. In the first empowering technique, M was placed in her
birth posture and encouraged to push her mother's hands away,
physically and symbolically resisting the grabbing and lifting
that had occurred during birth. In the second, M was gently lifted
up by her arms rather than by her neck, as she was during birth,
and was supported in lifting herself up. This provided impotent
muscle and tissue groups the opportunity to show their effectiveness.
In the third technique, gross motor movements were empowered in
two ways, first by placing M in her birth posture and helping
her crawl into her mother's arms, and second by inviting M to
push through a tunnel made by her mother's body (the hands and
knee position described earlier).
M's mother repeated and reinforced the empowerment techniques
at home. Overall, empowerment was an engaging and exciting experience
for M, as it is for most babies, but it also restimulated traumatic
memories. When memories are reactivated, it is important to honor
feelings that emerge, to encourage catharses that follow, and
to provide empathy for feelings and behaviors that are expressed.
Empowerment is important for all cesarean babies, but is particularly important for unplanned cesareans. When c-sections are unplanned, this means that babies are expected to be born "naturally" (without surgery), but complications necessitate the use of surgical interventions. Research indicates that mothers and babies are likely to feel as though they have somehow failed in such circumstances, especially when natural birth is a desired goal. For mothers, failure means that they were unable to give birth according to their value systems, and for babies, failure means that they were unable to successfully push through the birth canal and be born. For infants, failure during birth may further translate into feelings of physical and psychological impotence during childhood and adulthood, as well as feelings of personal inadequacy and low self esteem.
Evaluation
M's mother was interviewed throughout the treatment process to
ascertain symptomatic changes in her daughter. Some of the symptomatic
changes were immediate, and others were gradual. Most changes
were clearly associated with cathartic releases and with powerful
empowerment sessions. M's nocturnal awakening is a good example
of this. Early in the treatment period, M awoke frequently during
the night, presumably because of hunger. We were working with
the section lodge technique at the time, where she experienced
herself descending into the pelvis to the point where she needed
to be sectioned. The further she descended in the pelvis, the
more terrified she became, and this pattern seemed to occur at
night as well: the further she dropped into sleep, the more frightened
and agitated she became. Some children associate depth of descent
with darkness, and this may have been the case with M (as night
time nears, it gets darker, and as descent proceeds it gets "emotionally
darker"). Once she catharted her traumatization about descent,
her sleep patterns improved dramatically. Her eye contact improved
as well.
M was followed up at regular intervals to ascertain the status of her presenting and potential symptoms. During all follow-up visits, M was evaluated against a list of symptoms that are associated with unresolved cesarean trauma. Her symptom progress was also compared with a control group of untreated, untraumatized cesarean babies. At the time she came for treatment, M exhibited four major presenting symptoms: diminished eye contact, tactile sensitivity, nocturnal awakening, and breastfeeding difficulties. The problems with eye contact and breastfeeding were resolved almost immediately, and other symptoms progressed throughout treatment. None of the symptoms recurred during the follow-up periods.
During one of the follow-up visits, M's mother was asked what she thought was most helpful about treatment. She replied that the release of M's negative emotions and the regaining of M's power were the most helpful.
Common Symptoms of Cesarean Born Children
The following symptoms are common among cesarean born children
with unresolved birth trauma. They often mirror what actually
occurs during cesarean deliveries.
M's Symptomatic Evaluation
M's potential symptoms were rated by her mother, day care teacher,
and classroom teacher when M was three and eight years old. The
symptoms were rated according to a five point scale which indicated
how frequently the potential symptoms appeared. The ratings for
each symptom were then averaged into one score.
An average rating of 1 means that the symptom never or almost never occurred; 2 that it seldom occurred; 3 that it occasionally occurred; 4 that it more-than-occasionally occurred; and 5 that it often occurred. Ratings were done at the ages of three and eight, and a low rating is best because it means that trauma has been resolved and a potential symptom averted. The mother's average rating for all symptoms was 2.14, the teacher's average rating was 2.19, and the day care teacher's average rating was 1.72. The average of these three ratings is 2.07, meaning that she seldom manifested potential symptoms. This compares to an average rating of 4.13 for untreated infants, meaning that they manifested potential symptoms more-than-occasionally.
M's Positive Psychology
Long term follow-up evaluations of treated babies indicate that
they commonly exhibit positive qualities throughout childhood,
and these qualities seem representative of qualities inherent
in the treatment situation. Treated babies, when children, were
often described in terms of the following ten qualities: emotionally
aware and expressive, mutually communicative, empathic, bonded,
nonaggressive, perceptive, loving, proficient (especially in terms
of human potential, talents and abilities), trusting, and spiritual.
M was rated on these qualities by her parents, her preschool teacher,
her day care staff, and her classroom teacher, using the same
five point rating scale described above. All ratings were averaged
into one score. At three years of age, eight of the positive qualities
were rated as 6 or higher (meaning that they were consistently
manifested) and two of the qualities were rated as 5 (often but
not consistently manifested). At eight years of age, six of the
qualities were rated as 6 or higher, and four of the qualities
were rated 5. Ratings for untreated babies were significantly
lower in all cases and for all qualities. Following is a discussion
of a few of these qualities.
Bonding and Attachment
When traumas are unresolved, bonding and attachment suffer because
the integrity and depth of the bonding process is compromised
by traumas. Infants whose pains and distresses are not perceived
and acknowledged feel less bonded, in the same way that adults
feel unbonded when they are inaccurately perceived or insufficiently
acknowledged. Bonding and attachment were M's most highly rated
skills, and this is an attestation to the success of the treatment
process. She felt bonded, and she bonded to others. She received
average ratings of 6.2 and 6.7 on bonding and attachment, indicating
that she consistently felt and manifested these qualities in appropriate
situations. Her high ratings are not surprising because bonding
and attachment are typically accelerated in treated infants. There
are two reasons for this. First, treated infants resolve their
traumas and have no resistances to the bonding process. Second,
the treatment process is a virtual training ground in bonding
and attachment. Lifelong bonds occur when babies face their traumas
and when parents and therapists respond with empathy, compassion,
and understanding. Babies internalize the bonding and attachment
process, and exhibit it throughout their lives. Treatment results
in trusting and affectionate children who are able to attach and
bond with people, and are able to discern trustworthiness in others.
Mutuality
Mutuality is the term given to the simultaneous and similar response
of two people to an event or experience. For example, mutuality
happens when a mother and baby laugh together over a tickle or
become excited when grandmother walks through the door. In the
early stages of treatment, instances of mutuality between M and
her mother were sporadic, inconsistent, and infrequent. This was
not surprising because unresolved traumas impede and obstruct
the mutuality process. And as might be expected, there were noticeable
and dramatic increases in mutuality between M and her mother as
sessions progressed and as traumas were resolved, and these instances
of mutuality carried over into childhood. For example, M pointed
to a bird and tried to say the word "bird". She and
her mother mutually experienced joy when M pointed and attempted
to speak.
When M was eight, the most common way she experienced mutuality
was through humor and through vocalizing and singing. She liked
to laugh with other people and to make other people laugh. She
also liked to get on the same wave length as others by vocalizing
and singing. She frequently sang with her mother, especially at
bedtime. They attuned their voices to each other, got on the same
wavelength and sang. This was joyful and affectionate for them
both.
M's childhood ratings on mutuality all reached 6 and above, indicating
that she consistently exhibited mutuality in appropriate situations.
Mutuality is an important developmental process because it prepares
babies for the experience of empathy in childhood and adulthood.
Empathy
Mutuality and empathy are closely related. Mutuality is the ability
to experience events with another person, and empathy the ability
to compassionately experience the other person as the event. Empathic
relating styles are almost universal among children treated as
infants, occurring in over 90% of all cases, whereas empathic
relating styles are uncommon in children who are not treated,
occurring in under 20% of all cases. The ability to empathize
may be due to the fact that trauma resolution opens up the heart
and develops inner feelings of love and compassion toward oneself
and toward others. It's also likely that the ability results from
the empathic nature of the treatment process itself. During treatment,
parents consistently respond to their babies with empathy, and
babies internalize empathy as a normal and routine aspect of relationships.
Parents also respond with empathy during childrearing, reinforcing
what has happened during treatment. The old adage "children
learn what they live" is appropriate here.
M was first evaluated for empathy at three years of age, at which time her mother was asked to name the quality that she liked most in M. Her mother responded with the following story:
I just love her empathy. She is always empathic. I'll tell you a story. A child in M's preschool was sitting alone in the room, crying softly to himself. No one seemed to notice, but M did. She always noticed such things. M went over to the little boy, sat down next to him, and just hung out with him. Occasionally she said things like, "You're really sad; your feelings are hurt; I know you feel alone but I am here." M usually sat with children when they felt upset, and usually told them that she was there and they could talk to her if they wanted. She often just sat with them until they felt better. Her empathy went to adults and to social issues as well. For example M was very aware of homelessness in our society and insisted on learning about homeless people. M expressed compassion toward them and insisted that we help them. She gave some of her own hard earned money.
During a follow-up evaluation, M's day care teacher was asked to list any exceptional characteristics that M possessed. The teacher replied that M was very pensive, introspective, and able to tune into other people's perceptions and feelings. This is a classic definition of empathy. M's third grade teacher also had high esteem for M's empathic skills and said, "M's consciousness extends past herself to the consciousness of others; she has empathy in a high degree."
Human Potential
Treated infants were found to manifest spontaneous attentional
preferences during or shortly after the resolution phase of treatment.
This means that infants' attentions moved from general to specific,
and focused on certain objects or classes of objects, or on certain
activities or classes of activities. For example, during the period
when M was resolving her fluid trauma (probably the most severe
trauma she faced), she began to make sounds, to engage in extensive
and long periods of vocalization. The change was sudden and was
obvious to all who knew her. Research with other infants reveals
that these attentional preferences emerge when significant traumas
are resolved and that they are consistently associated with periods
of trauma resolution. These patterns become relatively permanent
aspects of the infant's personality, are sustained into childhood,
and often develop into exceptionality.
The theoretical framework for understanding this process rests
in the postulation that the basic instincts for human potential
are stored at relatively the same depths in the unconscious and
at the same locations in the central nervous system as unresolved
traumas, and are obscured by the traumas. In this framework, trauma
resolution opens infants to the depths of their beings, thereby
accessing the basic impulses and instincts that guide and govern
human potential.
During M's period of trauma resolution, there was a spontaneous and profound increase in the frequency and longevity of her vocalizations. Vocalizing refers to the ability of infants to communicate their feelings and perceptions through voice tones rather than crying. Initially, M's unusual and prolonged vocalizations appeared to be telling what happened during her birth and how she felt about it. Once those were understood and empathized with, she continued with creative and expressive vocalizations on a daily basis and whether or not anyone was listening. It was obvious that she enjoyed vocalizing. The resilience and joy that were observed in M seem to be characteristic of the individuation process in babies (that of finding and expressing their inner talents and abilities), and it typically extends into childhood and adulthood. It was anticipated that M would be verbose and articulate, and would excel in verbal activities like speaking, vocabulary, and reading. As is true with all treatment cases, these possibilities were not mentioned to the parents in order to avoid bias in the research results.
Follow-up observations indicated that M was verbally active
and talented. M's preschool teacher said that M was very verbal
in classroom exercises and used words very well, with an excellent
vocabulary. Everyone interviewed, without exception, described
M as an articulate and verbal person, or used analogous words.
Her mother said, "M does not stop talking. She can really
articulate what she wants to say and is beyond her years in how
she uses and understands words."
As a child, one of M's favorite activities was finding out the
meaning of concepts and words, and playing word games. Her favorite
game was Junior Pictionary, which emphasizes vocabulary skills.
She was tested on vocabulary at school and received a score better
than 94% of her peers on national scales. In addition to crossword
puzzles and vocabulary games, reading was another of M's favorite
pastimes.
M had another trait that emerged shortly after a second major period of trauma resolution. Whereas she had previously been "girlish" and soft, she suddenly became a devoted tomboy. She was squeamish about frilly baby clothes, paid little or no attention to dolls, hated to wear dresses or lacy things, disliked grooming and primping, loved to play sports, and loved to wear jeans and overalls. As with all other traits that emerge during treatment, her "tomboyishness" will be followed up to see if it translates into adult human potential.
Spirituality
Treated infants are more spiritually inclined than untreated infants,
and this was a surprising finding. Subtle signs of spirituality
are first noticed during infancy and become obvious during childhood.
Spirituality is defined in terms of internal characteristics rather
than religious involvement. Some of the many qualities used to
define spirituality are: the presence of light in the eyes, the
occurrence of spontaneous meditation (blank, open eyed staring),
the daily occurrence of peaceful feelings, the manifestation of
presence (as defined in psychological literature), an age appropriate
understanding of synchronicity, and a belief in or experience
of a higher power. There are many qualities which reflect spirituality,
and it is rare for children to manifest them all.
M's spirituality became evident during the treatment process, as her traumas were released and repatterned, and manifested in terms of an inner light, a deep presence, a contemplative attitude, and an inner knowing (these were ways she was consistently described by others). M received high ratings on spirituality during all follow-up evaluations and from all evaluators. Her average rating on spirituality at three years of age was 6.5 out of a possible 7, and her average rating at eight years of age was 6.3, meaning that she consistently manifested spirituality in her daily life.
M's mother first detected M's spirituality during the resolution phase of treatment and noted that M's spiritual qualities and spiritual interests continued into childhood. This was partly evident in her attitude about going to church. M's parents did not attend church, but M consistently inquired about going. When her parents took up nonreligious meditation, M continually inquired about that, and eventually took it up on her own. During subsequent follow-up evaluations, it was discovered that M had a persistent interest in religion. This is interesting because neither her parents nor grandparents were religiously inclined. Upon further evaluation, it was found that treated children have more of a proclivity toward religion than their parents, and more of a proclivity toward religion than untreated children, in spite of the religious values of their parents.
Other spiritual qualities were also noted in M, contemplative depth being the most consistent. Using this as a criterion of spirituality, all of her ratings were 6 except for the day care teacher's, which was a 7 (the highest possible rating on spirituality). The day care teacher said that M was the most spiritual person that she had ever met. This was quite a compliment because the teacher had a long history of involvement in spiritual communities.
Conclusion
Dr. Stanislov Grof, who has spent a major portion of his professional
life studying birth and death, concluded that birth has profound
impacts on life. He discovered that the way a person is born is
closely related to one's general attitude toward life, to the
ratio of optimism to pessimism, to how people relate, and to one's
ability to confront challenges and conduct projects. As indicated
in this article, cesarean-born children display particular attitudes
and personality traits that vaginally-born children are less likely
to have. They are more likely to suffer from low self esteem,
to have difficulties with task completion, to "get stuck,"
to experience tactile defensiveness, and to exhibit rescue complexes.
The therapeutic work with M and other babies indicates that these
negative possibilities can be ameliorated and resolved by means
of specific treatments during infancy and childhood.
It is common in this culture to believe that babies are unconscious and unaware, and that they unaffected by their births. The effect of cesarean deliveries is exemplified in the following description, obtained from an eighty-five-year-old woman who remembered her cesarean birth during an Emerson workshop.
M displayed a similar tactile defensiveness. Prior to her treatment, M had a non-verbal but similar attitude about people, and a non-verbal but similar attitude about touching and holding. She distanced herself from her mother through tactile defensiveness and through low level eye contact. As her birth traumas were resolved, the tactile defensiveness and distancing dissipated. M became an expressive and affectionate child, and has remained so to this day, and herein lies the hope and the purpose of treatment: to liberate babies and children so that they are able to experience and express the love, the joy, the compassion, and the uniqueness that are their birthrights.
References
Emerson, W. (1993). Treating birth trauma during infancy:
Dynamic outcomes. CA: Emerson Training Seminars.
Emerson, W. (1996). Treating birth trauma during infancy: Cord
trauma. [Video-tape]. CA: Emerson Training Seminars
English, J. (1985). Different doorway. Adventures of a cesarean
born. CA: Earth Heart Press.
Grof, S. (1998). Realms of the human unconscious. New York:
Viking Press.
William Emerson's articles and videos can be ordered through:
Emerson Training Seminars, 4940 Bodega Ave., Petaluma, CA USA 94952
707-763-7024 phone 707-778-7074 fax