Wisdom in the Body

by Michael Kern

  Although the ignition of fluids with the organizing forces of the Breath of Life is constant throughout life, there are certain key stages within this process. The next significant stage after primary ignition occurs at birth. With the first intake of breath, a secondary ignition occurs, vivifying the fluids with further potency required by the baby for its survival, growth and development into an independent being.

  Effects of trauma

  The first eight weeks after conception, called the embryonic period, is a time of rapid development in the womb. By the end of this period, all the body’s organs and systems have already formed. The remainder of pregnancy, the fetal period, is concerned with the growth and refinement of these systems. Dr. Emerson’s clinical research indicates that any stresses or traumas that occur during pregnancy affect the particular organ or body system in the phase of most rapid progression at the time.15

  For example, there is some evidence to suggest that heart problems can originate from a trauma suffered during the third week of pregnancy.16 The baby’s heart begins to form at this time. A condition that affects the immune system, called Systemic Lupus Erythmetosus (SLE), may similarly originate from a trauma suffered during the fourth month of pregnancy.17 More severe conditions such as malformations are often related to problems that arise during the embryonic period and affect the actual formation of the embryo’s tissues. Dr. John Upledger observes,

  If something goes wrong during the first eight weeks, it may result in a defectively designed structure or system whereas, if the problem occurs after the eighth week of gestation, it will more likely result in a failure of growth, development or refinement of the involved structure or system.18

  Although in all cases our embryological blueprint for health is never lost, problems that develop later in pregnancy (i.e. during the fetal period) are usually more amenable to craniosacral treatment.

  Any of a mother’s experiences during pregnancy and probably those of a father’s too can also be felt by the developing baby. If there are traumas such as a fall, a car accident, emotional stress or toxicity, the developing baby may also register their impact. As a result, the baby may experience pregnancy as a time of joy and welcoming, or of danger and uncertainty.

  Life statements

  If a baby undergoes traumas that relate to its very survival, contractile responses are likely to form within its tissues and lead to patterns of inertia affecting primary respiration. These critical experiences sow the seeds for the way in which its mind and body then becomes set in later life, leading to the formation of basic life statements.

  A life statement is a core belief that we have about ourselves and the world. Common life statements that originate from this time are, “Life is always a struggle,” “Nobody loves me” and “The world is full of danger.” On more a positive note, other life statements may include, “Life always provides for my needs,” “People are essentially good” or “I feel happy with who I am.” These beliefs can remain throughout life, influencing the way in which we function in all our interactions and relationships.

  Implantation

  Each stage of our early development can carry potential risks and challenges. The implantation of the embryo into the wall of its mother’s womb is one such significant event. Some estimates suggest that about eighty percent of pregnancies do not survive implantation, often without the knowledge of the mother. If there are difficulties with implantation, it may create a traumatic response within the early cells of a developing embryo. This may lead to a patterning in its system, which could become associated with a life statement such as “I can’t find anything to connect to!” or “I don’t know where I belong!” or “I’m afraid of death.” It has been found that the particular cells that implant into the mother’s womb eventually migrate to form tissues around the brow of the head.19 It may seem extraordinary, but these kinds of life statements associated with experiences of implantation often arise during craniosacral treatment of this area.

  Developmental patterns

  A remarkable degree of organization takes place with great rapidity during the early stages of pregnancy. Because of the action of the organizing forces carried in the long tide, a midline is formed within the developing embryo about two weeks after conception. The central nervous system starts to form very soon after, organized around the axis of this midline. The reciprocal tension membrane system, including the spinal dura, starts to form at about three weeks after conception. During the fourth week the rudimentary brain is completed and the spinal column as well as the spinal cord are largely formed.20 If trauma is experienced at this early stage it can have a direct impact on the functioning of these tissues. It seems feasible that any experience that can create distortion in the growth centers of the spinal column—from about three weeks after conception—may be responsible for some types of abnormal spinal curvatures in later life.21 Furthermore, defects in the spinal cord and spina bifida can result from a complication in the development of the early neural tube.22 Other conditions such as the formation of a harelip results when something affects the fusion of the lips during the seventh week of pregnancy, and a cleft palate can result from problems with the fusion of the hard palate during the eighth to ninth week.

  Responsive to the environment

  As well as being sensitive to physical events, a developing baby is also responsive to the feelings of its parents. These feelings may determine how a baby experiences the whole process of entering the world. Babies are able to sense the security and safety provided and bring this sensation inside, internalizing it so that it is always carried around. Typically, things such as whether there is a happy and secure home environment, if the father is present and supportive, or if there are arguments, conflicts, or stresses, become important influences. It’s interesting that anxiety levels of the parents often seem to echo their own experiences of being born and coming into the world.

  Whether or not a baby is accepted or wanted becomes embodied as a sensate physiological experience. Deep-seated physical and psychological patterns about acceptance or rejection may then develop, leading to life statements such as, “Nobody cares about me,” “I’m not wanted in this world,” or conversely, “I feel loved” or “The world is at my feet.” If the baby is wanted too much the parents can have anxieties about losing it, particularly if there have been difficulties with conceiving or previous miscarriages. This can also lead to somatized patterns of anxiety in the baby.

  By the sixth month of pregnancy, a developing baby can begin to hear sounds. Its parents’ voices then serve as a reassuring and comforting influence or if stressed be a source of apprehension or alarm. The degree to which babies respond to the sound of their parents’ voices is indicated by research into language development. This research shows that if parents talk to infants while they are still in the womb, they learn how to speak much more quickly.23

  Sympathetic tone

  The tone of a baby’s muscular system becomes set according to the nature of its environment. If its mother’s life circumstances cause her to be anxious or stressed, she secretes higher than normal levels of adrenaline. This has been shown to pass into the bloodstream of the fetus, causing the rate of its muscle contractions to rise.24 Therefore, the muscular activity of a baby can increase if its mother is stressed. Furthermore, this increase in activity continues long after the mother’s own adrenaline levels have subsided.25

  The hormone adrenaline helps to initiate the fight or flight response by increasing the activity of the sympathetic nervous system. If high levels of adrenaline persist, the tone of the baby’s sympathetic nervous system becomes set at a point of greater excitability. This produces a sustained fight or flight response in the baby. The increase in sympathetic activity may leave the baby with less leeway to deal with new stresses that it encounters. Conditions such as over-sensitivity, hyperactivity, irritability and perhaps asthma or migraines can be the result.

  Catherine’s story

  At this point
, I would like to relate an experience that occurred during the craniosacral treatment of a 42-year-old woman called Catherine. She was in good physical health apart from a slight tendency to asthma when she came for craniosacral treatment. However, she had frequent bouts of anxiety and found it difficult to form close relationships with men for fear that they would leave her. When I placed my hands on her frontal bone, I started to feel a pull exerted from the reciprocal tension membranes underneath. Catherine described that she felt a peculiar and yet familiar sensation of cold down the right side of her body. As this feeling became more obvious she began to feel as if her whole body was being pulled downwards from the inside.

  As she tracked these sensations in her body, Catherine started to feel the urge to cry. I gave her the space to let these sensations and feelings just move through her. After a few minutes when I asked her what she was noticing, she could only answer, “There’s something missing down my right side!” She didn’t understand this feeling or why it was there, but felt safe enough to allow herself to go deeper into it.

  Again she exclaimed, “There’s something missing!” followed by more tears and shuddering movements of her body. Next she cried out, “Where have you gone? Why have you left me?” She kept repeating these questions over and over again. Her despair intensified and she then started to get overwhelmed. I encouraged her to take a few deep, slow breaths and to find a place of resource in her body. Her next statement was an emphatic cry, “He’s gone!” This was again followed by sobbing and repeated calls of, “Where have you gone? Why have you left me?”

  Catherine had the image that she had been a twin and that her brother had been miscarried during the early stages of pregnancy. She had consequently been left on her own. With this image in mind she entered a phase of grieving and gentle sobbing. After letting herself acknowledge all these feelings that welled up from inside of her, Catherine then felt ready to accept that her twin brother had died. With this acceptance she was able to lovingly say goodbye to him.

  Catherine shared with me that throughout her life she had had strong feelings that something was missing, which she associated with the cold sensations down the right side of her body. Naturally, any original trauma occurred before Catherine could talk or understand what was happening. However, perhaps the memory was still being carried in her body. Whether the miscarriage of her brother actually took place or not, at the very least this experience was real for her. More significantly, after this session there was a dramatic improvement in Catherine’s asthma, she no longer experienced the cold sensations down her right side, and it marked a turning point after which she started to grow enormously in self-confidence.

  Size and position of baby

  Other causes of stress can be related to the size and position of the baby. If a baby grows to a large size in the womb, or if its mother’s pelvis is relatively small, the baby can find a shortage of space. This is often the case when there are twins or more. Any cramping within the pelvis can cause the baby to grow in an asymmetrical pattern, perhaps leading to a contraction of one side of its head or body. Something similar can also occur if the baby is in a breech position. In this case, the baby’s head may be pushed up against its mother’s ribs, and its arms and legs twisted.26 Craniosacral treatment can be helpful if these patterns remain after birth.

  Umbilical nourishment

  A developing baby needs to receive a constant and well-balanced supply of nutrition for its healthy growth and development. The umbilical cord is the lifeline in the womb through which it receives food and gets rid of wastes. The umbilical cord becomes attached to the mother’s placenta, which is fully formed by the third month of pregnancy. This tissue is richly supplied with blood in order to provide nutrition to the baby. The placenta also helps filter out harmful substances so that they don’t enter the baby’s bloodstream. Nevertheless, some types of toxins are able to pass through.

  Nutritional deficiencies in the baby can occur from a variety of causes. Naturally, it is important that a mother-to-be eats a wholesome and nutritionally balanced diet. In particular, mothers who conceive soon after coming off the contraceptive pill may be deficient in some vitamins, which can affect the health of the developing baby. Another cause of nutritional deficiency is if the placenta is not fully functioning. This may occur if the baby is very late because the placenta naturally starts to degenerate around the full term of pregnancy. Occasionally the placenta loses some of its capability before the end of pregnancy. This can cause a lack of oxygen and nutritional problems that slow down the baby’s growth—or, if prolonged, lead to more severe problems.27

  The imprint of experiences that are connected to receiving nourishment in the womb are commonly held in the tissues around the umbilicus (belly button). It is primarily through the umbilicus that the baby experiences its life in the womb as either pleasant or toxic. If adequate nourishment is not received, the baby may be left with the sense that getting its needs met is impossible, or that it isn’t nurtured or loved. These experiences can become somatized and coupled with life statements such as “Nobody loves me!” “I never get what I need!” or “The world is a dirty place!”

  Drugs

  Many chemicals and drugs, such as antibiotics, pesticides, some hormones, alcohol and nicotine, have been proven to be toxic to babies and can adversely affect growth and development. Smoking has been linked to the birth of smaller babies and a higher incidence of infant mortality.28 The chances of respiratory diseases such as asthma developing in childhood also increase if either parent smokes. It has also been found that alcohol abuse in pregnancy can cause malformation of the baby, and has been linked to learning difficulties. In cases where a mother is taking drugs such as cocaine or heroin, the baby is often born suffering from this addiction.

  Craniosacral work during pregnancy

  Craniosacral therapy sessions can be of great benefit for a mother-to-be, helping to improve constitutional strength and addressing the origins of any stresses or traumas. It is also possible for craniosacral practitioners to palpate the baby’s health while in the womb and to gently support its progress. By tuning in to the baby’s primary respiratory system, the practitioner can relate to its most fundamental forces of organization and development. Furthermore, treatment can help to relieve backache in the mother, a frequent symptom during pregnancy, and relax her pelvis. A well-balanced and relaxed pelvis can greatly ease the process of childbirth.

  If the baby is in a breech position, the gentle encouragement of craniosacral work can help it turn to a more easy presentation for birth. For example, Linda came for a session when she was at the full term of her pregnancy. Her baby was in a breech position and she was feeling very concerned. When I put my hands on her abdomen, I noticed a stress pattern in her diaphragm and some contraction of the tissues in the right side of her pelvis. Her baby also seemed to be affected by this inertia. After some gentle hands-on encouragement, there was a much fuller sense of primary respiration being expressed in the area. The next week I got a phone call from Linda. The same night of her treatment, her baby turned around into a position of normal presentation and Linda went straight into labor. She gave birth to a healthy three-kilogram (just under seven-pound) baby boy without any complications.

  Elisabeth’s and baby’s story

  The birth of Elisabeth’s baby was overdue by about ten days. Her waters had broken some thirty-six hours previously, but the major contractions for childbirth had still not started. Elisabeth and her baby were reaching a critical point when I was able to offer them a craniosacral treatment. If the onset of labor did not start within the next few hours, they would need to go into hospital for the birth to be induced. I put my hands on Elisabeth’s abdomen and felt her tension and anxiety. Within about five minutes of some listening and gentle encouragement of settling, we both simultaneously felt a tension lifting from her abdomen and the area opening up. Just two to three minutes later her contractions started, and about nine hours after she gave birth
to a beautiful baby girl.

  A salutary example

  In the 1930s Margaret Meade, one of the pioneers of modern anthropology, came across a tribe who lived in the jungles of Papua and New Guinea. This tribe was especially aware of the significant effect of pregnancy and birth in shaping our lives. They were known as the “peaceful people”; other more aggressive tribes left them alone because they posed no threat. Margaret Meade found that when a woman of this tribe became pregnant, she was elevated to the position of a queen. The tribe would take care of all her needs so that she wouldn’t suffer from any stress or strain. A mother-to-be was considered to be of great social importance because she was carrying the seed of the tribe in her womb. What was remarkable was that this tribe seemed to produce no traumatized babies, and were very harmonious in all their social interactions.

  ENTERING THE WORLD

  New technological advances have made birth less hazardous for mother and baby. However, the improvement in safety ceases at a certain point and thereafter the excessive use of machines and drugs creates problems and complications by interfering with the normal physiology of mother and baby.29

  DR. YEHUDI GORDON