The Vulnerable Prenate

The prenate (i.e., the unborn baby) is vulnerable in a number of ways that are generally unrecognized and unarticulated. Most people think or assume that prenates are unaware, and seldom attribute to them the status of being human. I recall a recent train trip, where an expectant mother sat in a smoking car filled with boisterous and noisy people. I asked her whether she had any concern for her unborn baby, and whether she thought the smoke or the noise would be bothersome to her unborn child. Her reply was, "Well of course not, my dear. They are not very intelligent or awake yet. " Nothing could be further from the truth. Theory and research from the last 20 years indicates that prenatal experiences can be remembered, and have lifelong impact. The major purpose of this article is to clarify the conditions under which prenatal experiences may be lifelong and to describe the theoretical and research perspectives that are necessary to understand the effects of prenatal traumatization. In addition, because the incidences of personal and societal violence are at an all-time peak and headed higher, this paper discusses the effects of pre- and perinatal trauma on aggression and violence. INTERACTIONAL TRAUMA The effects of prenatal traumatization cannot be predicted without knowledge of other factors, and prenatal experiences are likely to have lifelong impact when they are followed by reinforcing conditions or interactional trauma. The term interactional trauma means that traumas interact with each other in producing their effects. In statistical analyses, interactional means that the effects of factors depend on the presence of other factors. Both of these definitions communicate the meaning of interaction as it is used in this article. For example, it is unlikely that being stuck during the birthing process causes claustrophobia during adulthood. However, claustrophobia is more likely if similar, reinforcing traumas occur. In one such case that I treated, a baby who had been stuck during his birth was also locked in a closet for 24 hours as a child, and held and choked by his brother on several occasions. Several points are relevant here. First of all, prenatal traumas provide "tinctures" for later experiences. Stated differently, life experiences are perceived in terms of prior and unresolved traumas. When a baby is stuck during birth, the baby is likely to perceive later events as entrapping, or to unconsciously manipulate or choose life situations that bring about entrapment. This process is called recapitulation. secondly, similar or recapitulated events, independent of perceptual processes, are likely to reinforce prenatal traumas, resulting in relatively chronic symptoms. In the case of the baby just described, childhood events acted as reinforcements for the birth trauma, resulting in chronic claustrophobia. THE EFFECTS OF PRENATAL EXPERIENCES: THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES-PRENATES ARE CONSCIOUS, AWARE BEINGS During the 1995 APPPAH Congress in San Francisco, David Chamberlain shared a case that exemplifies the consciousness of prenates. In this case, a baby was undergoing amniocentesis. Videotapes of the amniocentesis showed that when the needle was inserted into the uterus, the baby turned toward the needle and batted it away. Thinking that they had seen an aberration, medical staff repeated the needle insertion, and again, the baby batted the needle away. In addition, there are numerous anecdotal reports that babies routinely withdraw from needles as they are inserted into the uterus. From these observations, it is safe to conclude that babies are very conscious of what is happening around them, particularly with respect to events that have impact on them personally. In her book From Fetus to Child, Piontelli cites cases of prenatal awareness. She describes a twin pair, at about four months of gestation, who were very conscious of each other, and were also involved in dominance-submission interactions. …