Pre-birth parenting is all about what we do as parents PRIOR to birth to positively impact the emotional and physical development of our child – lifelong. Science now tells us that as baby develops and grows in the uterus, they receive much more than just nutrients from the mother’s blood.
The mother’s emotional state during pregnancy has a significant impact on fetal development and the hormones released in response to stress cross the placenta. Baby is in tune physically and psychologically with the emotions of its mother. Therefore, if a mother become anxious or stressed, baby will receive excess cortisol and fight or flight hormones. If the mother experiences chronic stress this will profoundly alter the distribution of blood flow in her fetus and change the character of her child’s developing physiology and brain structure.
As Dr Bruce Lipton outlines in his book, The Biology of Belief, antenatal and perinatal psychology research has now uncovered that, from the moment of conception, baby’s experience in the womb shapes the brain and lays the foundations for personality, emotional temperament and intelligence.
“Stress hormones prepare the body to engage in a protection response. Once these maternal signals enter the fetal blood stream, they affect the same target tissues and organs in the fetus as they did in the mother. In stressful environments, fetal blood preferentially flows to the muscles and hind-brain, providing nutritional requirements needed by the arms and legs and by the region of the brain responsible for (defence) life-saving reflex behaviour.
In doing so blood flow is shunted from the organs and stress hormones suppress fore-brain function. The development of fetal tissue and organs is proportional to both the amount of blood they receive and the function they provide.”
So a mother’s thoughts and emotions initiate an immediate chemical and physiological response within the developing fetus, and over-time this shapes baby’s developing physiology.
Creating a calm, nurturing environment within which baby can develop optimally is a responsibility that lays not only with the mother. What the father / partner does profoundly effects the mother and in turn the developing child. Therefore, conscious pre-birth parenting is about both mother and her partner working together to nurture the child from conception.
Taking time for relaxation and creating plenty of opportunities for interaction, play and music allows parents-to-be to connect and offer a sense of calm, security and routine for their developing baby in utero. Research shows that conscious pre-birth parenting also leads to increased socialisation of babies, fewer premature and low birth weights, and a calmer, happier, healthier child all-round.
In a busy world, HypnoBirthing classes can provide you with the dedicated time and space you really need to connect and to learn relaxation techniques that will positively benefit baby’s physical and emotional development in utero. HypnoBirthing is not just about positively preparing for the birth of your child. Its about creating the optimum environment within which your baby can grow and develop into a healthy, happy little person.
For more information on HypnoBirthing Classes with Bloom & Birth please contact Helen on 07816 787294 or email info@bloomandbirth.co.uk