Infants before, during, and after birth have similar reactions to stress and trauma as the rest of the population. They also develop physical symptoms, and have problems with digestion and sleeping. They protest, get anxious and depressed, and become hyper-vigilant. Sadly, their emotional problems generally go unrecognized, or are attributed to some physical problem. Psychological sources for these problems are rarely a consideration.
Human beings are mammals, programmed with certain biological needs.
A baby lamb will bleat for its dead mother until it dies or is force-fed. The lamb needs connection to its mother. Twenty-five years ago, Dr. Rene Spitz first described marasmus as the physical wasting away of babies who had lost their mothers. Refusing to eat, even when force-fed, many died. In orphanages studied by Dr. Spitz and his colleagues, a little more than one third of the babies died despite being well fed and receiving good medical attention.