haptonomy (rather long but interesting)

[Guest guest]

And what about communication with the unborn? You might want to read

this...

JC

" CAN WE TALK TO THE UNBORN?

Research has now established that we begin to communicate with other

humans before we are born. It is called haptonomy. Haptonomy is the

scientific study of our ability to communicate at a deep, deep level.

But unlike talking, haptonomic communication combines words,

thoughts, and feelings. It has been described as " a combination of

listening and feeling " , " spontaneous empathy " , " psychotactile

contact " , or " the science of affectivity " . But whatever the name, it

is a special sort of relating---one human being to another. Dr.

Ludvig Janus is a clinical/developmental psychologist in Heidelberg,

Germany.

In his book, THE ENDURING EFFECTS OF THE PRENATAL EXPERIENCE

(Northvale, New Jersey: Aronson, 1997), Dr. Janus cites

research demonstrating that a communications link between the unborn

child and other humans is very real indeed. He shows how it is

possible for parents to establish such a link. And he also describes

the results of establishing this link for both child and mother.

Yet the major figure in this new field of research is Dr. Frans

Veldman, head of the International Centre for Research and

Development of Haptonomy in Oms, Ceret, France and chief organizer of

the first UNESCO conference on haptonomy in 1990. In experiments

conducted by Dr. Veldman, it was discovered that during the final

trimester of pregnancy, if a father places his hand upon the bare

abdomen of his pregnant wife an extraordinary thing happens. Watching

under ultrasound imaging, the unborn child " responds to the

invitation to relate, moves itself toward his hand resting on the

mother's belly and snuggles up into it. " When the father's hand is

taken away, the baby moves away. In any case, there is a distinct

desire for the unborn baby to establish communication contact.

Dr. Janus claims that babies who have been born after engaging in

haptonomy with parents " develop very well after their birth and that

all measurements of their development distinguish them in a dramatic

way from other babies " . Compared to others, such babies develop

higher IQs, better verbal skills, better perception and attention

skills, less irritability, and fewer weight problems and

gastrointestinal disturbances.

The benefits of haptonomy flow onto to the mother as well. For

instance, many women have difficulty in labor due to the fact that

the birth canal of the pelvis is simply too narrow. In particular,

the final 2 centimeters of needed space are normally missing in the

human female. Drugs are often given to increase dilation. When there

is no progress in this regard, eventually the baby and mother are at

risk. This missing 2 centimeters often results in a difficult labor,

a forceps delivery, and even a caesarean delivery. But according to

Dr. Janus, it has been demonstrated that mothers who engage in

haptonomy with their baby experience " a loosening up of the pubic

cartilage and the sacropelvic joint. This in turn gives the birth

canal an extra 2 centimetres of width---the crucial 2 centimetres

that are normally missing in human females. " Thus, the baby-mother

communication works to their mutual benefit.

Of course, mothers have to be open to the possibility of this form of

communication with their baby. A mother can " talk " to her baby in

many ways. For example, she can wake up a sleeping baby inside of her-

--without saying a word. This is frequently seen in hospitals during

prenatal exams. For instance, if during an ultrasound exam, a mother

is told that there is no spontaneous movement of her baby observable

on the monitor, and that this might be evidence of a developmental

disturbance to the pregnancy and to the baby, the mother is

invariably shocked, especially when she cannot see the monitor.

Invariably, this shock to the mother is enough to wake up the baby.

Intense baby movements almost always immediately appear on the

monitor.

This phenomenon was discovered in the 1980s by Dr. Reinhold of

Stuttgart, Germany. Dr. Reinhold humorously observed, " Without saying

a word, mother wakes you up. The first time now, but it probably

won't be the last " . Sometimes it is almost as if the baby is

desperately trying to " tell " mother something. For example, instances

abound of pregnant women having to leave rock concerts because their

baby refuses to calm down after exposure to the high decibel noise

levels. According to Dr. B.R.H. Van den Bergh of the University of

Leuven in Belgium, this highlights both the sensitivities of the

unborn child and yet another aspect of haptonomy. Dr. Janus observes

that " a huge, unused, human potential lies buried in this area of

prenatal relating.

The infant mortality rate has been dramatically reduced in the last

hundred years and now there is the chance that children come to the

light of day not only physically healthy but also are given all that

is required for good psychological development " . Dr. Veldman advises

that parents take time to " establish affective links " with their

unborn child. It is easy, natural, but it " sometimes takes time to

learn to communicate with feeling " .

In an article in the INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRENATAL AND PERINATAL

PSYCHOLOGY AND MEDICINE (1), Dr. Veldman writes, haptonomy

research " demonstrates that faculties every human being should

possess are nowadays more and more under-developed, they lie fallow,

or are atrophied, if not totally absent. However, these faculties are

of fundamental interest for contacts, interactions and human

relationships. " He laments that in our world dominated by concerns of

economic rationalism and the bottom line, we too often ignore this

world of " communication with feeling " ---the affective side of our

nature. He writes, " There is no room for feelings, emotions: for

affectivity. The dimension of feeling---and all that concerns the

affective life---is considered as lacking in interest and therefore

has no place in this world, as it is of no economic or political

value. This dimension would only disturb, in a awkward way, the

economic processes of development and production " .

So if our babies are trying to tell us something, are we always

willing to listen? "

(1) Veldman, F. (1994) Confirming Affectivity, The Dawn Of Human

Life. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRENATAL AND PERINATAL PSYCHOLOGY AND

MEDICINE 6:1:11-26.

(2) , S. (1999) Talking To The Unborn. The Sun-Herald (Sydney),

Tempo, 27 June, p. 9.