Vision, Mission & Legacy

VISION:
APPPAH illuminates the life-long impact of conception, pregnancy and birth on babies, families and society.


MISSION:
APPPAH's mission is to educate professionals and the public about, and advocate for, the life-changing discoveries made in the area of prenatal and perinatal psychology and health.

We accomplish our mission by:

  • Creating conferences, workshops, and other educational opportunities
  • Publishing a peer-reviewed Journal, Newsletter, and several Directories
  • Sharing a website containing APPPAH archives, a specialized bookstore, and key papers and topics in birth psychology
  • Promoting research
  • Partnering with local, regional, national and international groups with similar interests, and
  • Advocationg for a new era of pregnancy and birth honoring the consciousness of babies and parents, and the prevention of prenatal and perinatal trauma.

Our Legacy:
In the last 25 years, the APPPAH Community has fundamentally:

  • Re-defined the nature of the human prenate as an aware, communicative, and vulnerable being;
  • Re-set the starting time for parenthood from after birth to before conecption; and
  • Revealed the hidden connections between the quality of conception, pregnancy and birth, and the quality of individual wellness, public health, and compassionate society.

The Association emanated from the vision of Canadian psychiatrist Thomas R. Verny, MD. DHL, DPsych, FRCPC and was founded in 1983. APPPAH is an international forum for individuals from diverse backgrounds and disciplines interested in psychological and physical dimensions of prenatal and perinatal experience. First registered as a charity in Canada, APPPAH subsequently became a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) educational foundation in the United States. The Association is comprised of a committed and active Board of Directors, an Executive Director, members and volunteers. Support comes from membership dues, grants and fundraising activities, and monetary and in-kind donations

Among those involved in living and spreading APPPAH’s message are mothers and fathers, children and adult survivors of prenatal and perinatal trauma. Active members spanning the globe include: obstetricians, pediatricians and family practice physicians, nurses, midwives, health care professionals and developmental therapists, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, counselors, doulas, childbirth educators, home visitors, chiropractors, cranial-sacral, osteopathic and naturopathic practitioners, and somatic therapists. Other members include community leaders, businesspersons, educators, researchers, and policy makers.

APPPAH celebrates its special role in inspiring and nurturing the founding of the Santa Barbara Graduate Institute, the only school in the world offering M.A. and Ph.D. curriculums in the field of prenatal and perinatal psychology. The Institute provides an important professional route for scholars, researchers, and clinicians to make their contributions to the growth of this promising field.

A significant portion of current APPPAH members are therapists playing a historic role in identifying and healing the psychological traumas of modern birth; they are also authorities on how to prevent these traumas. APPPAH spreads the message that positive prenatal and perinatal experiences have a lasting influence on health, human relationships, and society.

10-7-07