The Birth Scene

Highlights
by Barbara Findeisen, William Emerson, and Maureen Wolfe
The 1997 Congress at the Cathedral Hill Hotel in San Francisco was a happy and deeply rewarding experience! People keep telling us how much it meant to them. Some conference-goers said it was the best conference they had ever attended.(See Impressions).
Our focus on Birth, Love, and Relationships was designed as a natural balance to our 1995 Congress on Birth and Violence: The Societal Impact. This congress might have been titled Birth and Love: The Societal Impact because just as violence has its roots in negative prenatal and perinatal experiences, love has its roots in positive prenatal and perinatal experiences. Considering the violence we are facing today, we thought it important to seek the healing antidote found in the power of good relationships.
Since our first international congress in Toronto, Canada in 1983, we have observed many positive changes in birth procedures. We also have observed ongoing problems. In April 1997, President and Mrs. Clinton convened a White House conference on infants. No one spoke about the importance of mother love and stimulation in the pre- and perinatal era. We know that crucial learning occurs in the womb, at birth, and during infancy~a time when the presence or absence of maternal love has a lasting effect in a child,s life. Apppah,s mission is to raise this understanding to national and international awareness and facilitate its integration into homes, schools, medical institutions, and governmental agencies.
The congress was designed around four interactive forums when our invited speakers addressed all registrants. Question and Answer periods were part of each forum. In addition to this "core curriculum" numerous special events, award ceremonies, and interest groups provided opportunities for further expression and interaction. Among the evening activities were the official opening of the congress, Presidential Address and Reception, the Cheek Memorial Lecture, The Thomas R. Verny Award for Outstanding Contributions to Pre- and Perinatal Psychology and Health, and a bonanza of Saturday night activities.
Over three hundred persons rallied in San Francisco for congress and pre-congress educational events~some people coming from as far away as Australia, Thailand, Yemen, Buenos Aires, Japan, Ireland, and London, thirty-six people from sixteen countries. U.S. participants came from twenty-six states. This congress broke all records for Continuing Education Credits with seventy people receiving CEU,s. Half the people attending identified themselves as professionals: 40 Ph.D.'s, 25 marriage counselors, 20 physicians, 20 nurses, 17 midwives, 9 childbirth educators, 6 social workers, and 5 occupational therapists.
All participants enjoyed exhibits, art displays, musical interludes, film viewings, a "Time Out Room," and a magnificent bookstore holding books, videos, and audiotapes all in one convenient location.
Here online, we invite you to visit the various conference scenes below for a "taste of the Congress." Please plan to be with us at the Millennial Congress in San Francisco, December 2-7, 1999. Keep tuned to Bits & Bytes for the earliest news and a chance to register at early bird-rates for this auspicious occasion on the theme "Birth and Consciousness in the New Millennium."

Impressions
By Jeannine Parvati Baker
San Francisco will never be the same. The 8th International Congress of Pre- and Perinatal Psychology convened at Cathedral Hill Hotel in December 1997 and a grand meeting it was! A spectacular array of speakers shared what has heart and meaning for us. We heard from the cellular to the cosmic articulations of the healing power of perinatal consciousness. Indeed, after the opening night, when the word "spirituality" was spoken three times, I knew we were in for an event of mythic proportions! As Wendy McCord said, "We just might be a reincarnated Mystery School." This would account for so many having the feeling of coming home when attending APPPAH conferences. And what joy that the family reunion is no longer dysfunctional, for we have removed our filters and can see the awakening amidst us.
Many of APPPAH's members have been like alarm clocks in their own lines of work, and they discovered that some people don't like to be awakened. Indeed, somnambulists are even grumpy and take revenge upon the alarm clock! We heard at the Closing Circle how many had lost their jobs when they shared their startling ideas about pre- and perinatal psychology. How good to be in a Congress where the givens of life are shared by so many with a devotion to deepen the exploration.
Of all the Associations to which I speak, I have found APPPAH unique in its desire to make its professions obsolete. The members, dedicated to healing the earth by healing birth, would celebrate the day when the reparative and educational jobs we do are no longer needed. We share a common passion: every baby is a welcomed baby.
I have long envisioned us all sitting in a circle sharing our stories with one another to inspire the work which gives meaning to our lives. I am grateful for Steve Scott of NOCIRC Utah, Shivam Rachana from Australia, Jay Hathaway of the Bradley Childbirth Organization, and Marilyn Milos of NOCIRC International who made this dream a reality with their stories during the Closing Ceremony.
Most of all, abundant thanks to Maureen Wolfe, William Emerson and Barbara Findeisen for envisioning the congress and gathering us all together.

For more information about Jeannine Parvati Baker.

A Chorus of Praise
"I was sad that the wonderful event in San Francisco was over...I'm so full of new ideas and encouragement."
"Wow...The Congress was terrific!"
"It was a pleasure to be part of the Congress...You are leading a new awareness for many professionals in childbirth."
"The things I learned have already been immeasurably helpful to me in my practice...This makes my life as a midwife rich. Thank you."
"This conference was the best yet! It was great to gather with the APPPAH Family."
"I hated to leave..."

Pre-Congress Workshop Leaders...In Their Own Words
(Morning Session)
From Vision to Reality in the 21st Century
Joseph Chilton Pearce: Effects of Technological Childbirth
Neuro-cardiology is the hottest field in medicine, offering the most startling discoveries of our century and throws new light on the critical importance of re-instating non-technological birth, breastfeeding, and long bonding. The heart plays an enormous role in embryonic formation, fetal development, birth, bonding, immunities, DNS, and all subsequent relationships throughout life. The heart is the controlling factor in the action of hormones, the immune system, nervous system, and the electro-magnetic field, all of which influence the brain. The synchrony of heart and brain can get disrupted by the birth process and effect people the rest of their lives resulting in 80% more frequent illness.

(Afternoon Session)
Creating a Village for Mothers and Babies at Risk
Suzanne Arms
A model facility has been operating in Milan, Italy for fifty years~the Villagio Della Madre E Dell Fanciullo, led by Elda Mazzochi Scarzella. Responding to the post-war needs of pregnant young girls who were the victims of rape and incest and rejected by their families, Elda created a safe, self-contained village with cooperative living facilities and a large birth suite. Girls were paired as roomates for mutual support and were assisted in establishing an ideal mother/child relationship. Preparations led to successful natural births under the guidance of a single doctor who served the group over many years. Babies and mothers were never separated, and after birth mothers helped each other, had appropriate schooling and often remained in the community for months and years afterward. Using the Villiagio as a springboard for discussion, the workshop group brainstormed how such a model could be adapted to the needs of mothers and babies in other cities around the world today.

The Parenting Process
Thomas Paris, Ph.D. and Eileen Paris, Ph.D.
This workshop focused on the parenting issues of conception, intrauterine development, birth and infancy (0-3). In order to bring psychological and spiritual change to our global society, we must begin with a radical and substantive change in the way we parent and we must realize that parenting begins at conception. The workshop taught communication skills based on developmental themes of bonding, mirroring, and separating. Using these guidelines allows for a safe attachment to be created and a climate of empathic emotional closeness to grow~with plenty of room for individual development. When we can understand emotional development and apply these skills at the beginning of life instead of when trouble shows up, both family health and individual development have a chance to flourish.

Fetal Life, Birth, and Health
Michel Odent, M.D.
A review of the scientific research reveals some of the long-term consequences of events in utero, at birth, and early infancy~what I call "primal health research." It is during the primal period that the Primal Adaptive System reaches maturity. This includes the subcortical nervous system, endocrine system, and the immune system~which collectively have a profound influence on health throughout life. Nutrition during pregnancy, initiation of lactation, birthing, the relationship of humans to water, and the effects of vaccination all prove critical to the maturation of the adaptive system. The language of "primal health" and the "primal adaptive system" provides a practical alternative to such cumbersome terms as OEpsychoneuroimmunological system."

The Experience of Birth and its Effects on Intimacy
William Emerson, Ph.D.
In this two-day workshop, partly didactic and partly experiential, participants learned about all types of birth trauma and the major ways they effect relationships. This includes traumas which are restimulated from the prenatal period; traumas associated with birth stages; and traumas associated with birth complications and/or obstetrical interventions. Relationships between parents and their children are "scripted" and "fixated" by the birthing process. Trainees played a strong role in sharing cases of birth trauma and its effects on intimacy and relationships. Trainees also facilitated regressions, offering participants an opportunity to regress and to have personal consultations about their births, and to understand the connections between their births and current relationships.

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