Trauma in the Womb

FULL PROGRAM

Introduction to pre- and perinatal memory and sentience within the maternal field
Cherionna will begin by guiding participants through a meditation to enhance a sense of mindful presence, resource, and social engagement to support self-regulation in meeting the material presented. This will be followed by a presentation introducing findings in the field of pre- and perinatal psychology on very early memory and sentience. We will consider the important influence of the mother’s psychological state, including effects of extreme or ongoing stress, ancestral/epigenetic influences, and available support. When challenges are too much, the baby’s needs, even in utero, for love and connection can be relatively unmet, leaving them longing for what they have missed.

Overview of the trauma of twin loss, haunted womb, and umbilical affect
Pre- and perinatal loss often relates to losing a twin in the womb or at birth. It will be suggested that unacknowledged loss generates unconscious shadow material, driving the surviving twin to mourn and seek their lost twin. Similarly, that losing a sibling prior to one’s conception can create confusing, lifelong tendencies toward depression, sadness, fear and anxiety, and a sense of never being good enough. A child conceived after miscarriage, stillbirth or abortion develops in a “haunted womb,” characterized by a sense of fear, terror, death, grief, and disappointment. Babies also take on maternal emotions communicated umbilically as “umbilical affect.” How can we recognize and help resolve these issues?

Q&A

Experiential
Following another guided meditation, including the element of holding our “inner little one”, Cherionna will guide participants in enquiry into their own early loss and its potential effects through journaling. Exploring this material may stimulate an infantile nervous system state. Unable to self-regulate, babies settle through co-regulation. They cannot differentiate between their own and others’ emotions or between past and present. The enquiry includes practicing essential clinical skills in addressing this material: self-regulation, differentiation, mindful receptive presence, and orienting to resource and to one’s current age in present time.

Q&A