Birth

Today we will talk about something that bears directly on a person's life, about the first stage of his life — the process of birth. You spoke about how the embryo has a great capacity for perception, and also about the connection that forms between it and the mother, how through her it already gains access to the environment even though it is still in her womb.

While still in the mother's womb, the embryo has the possibility of being connected to her entire environment, and in this way it prepares for its encounter with the world as a whole.

The understanding of this comes gradually, because in scientific circles there is still not enough belief that such a remarkable continuation exists. And moreover, psychology speaks of the mother as a mediator. But in essence she becomes a mediator between the embryo and the world much earlier.

Well, then, perhaps we should begin with the labor contractions? Do they have any special meaning from a spiritual point of view? We know that physicians believe it is the fetus that initiates birth.

It releases certain hormones that in fact promote the beginning of the process of its birth.

I would like to add something more about the embryo's connection with the external world through the mother. Here we are speaking not only of the environment. Because later, throughout all the years of growing up, beginning from infancy and onward, in the end he sees life through the eyes of his father and mother, since he perceives their impressions of life and adopts their values. He has no possibility of freeing himself from this. Of course, later the environment, friends, the yard, and perhaps something else exert their influence on him, but in any case this occurs on top of what laid the foundation of his perception.

In psychology there are parallel concepts that speak both of the father schema and of the mother schema. But before, nowhere was the period prior to birth mentioned. This aspect is completely new.

I think we will discover this quickly, since this field of knowledge is now developing at a fairly great pace. As for the labor contractions — they are developed by the mother, who as if wishes to expel the fetus. But she wants to do this on the condition that the embryo establishes its readiness for existence on the outside. It actually secretes certain substances and is already in the "head down" position, exerting pressure on the cervix in order to come out. It truly wishes to rid itself of its state and leave the mother, because it is no longer able to receive its existence through her.

In spite of being in that remarkable place called "the mother's womb."

It has already become hostile toward it.

That is why, if the fetus does not leave the mother's womb after the 40th week of pregnancy, the situation is considered dangerous.

Suddenly, expelling forces appear, opposite to those retaining forces that were present throughout all the days of the pregnancy. For if previously the mother's womb protected the fetus, never ceasing to care for it so that it would only remain inside, now it becomes "hostile" to it and is obliged to bring it out. Here for the first time we see that the force of the love of the Higher (the mother) toward the lower (the child) as if becomes opposite to itself.

In order to expel it?

Yes, and thanks to this the fetus acquires a force of resistance, which the mother transmits to it, and it becomes able to exist independently outside of her. This happens precisely because it feels this impulse from her, namely, the way the force of her love clothes itself in a force of pressure. Her pushing away becomes as if hostile, and thereby she transmits to it yet another line of behavior. And this "negative" force also serves for its good.

The infant experiences a multitude of impressions. Psychology is very much occupied with the impressions of the infant. It attaches great importance to the fact that, while in the mother's womb, the infant was compressed and felt pressure from all sides. In essence, it has no other way out.

And thanks to this it comes out into the world. Great forces and enormous pressure are also required of the mother. The child acquires an additional measure of egoism, and therefore it is able to be outside the mother's womb and to withstand the hostile environment. It also acquires all the pangs of birth and the attitude of its mother, her quality of overcoming, and feels an additional measure of powerful force. And this means that it is already ready for existence outside her organism. To this one can add that during birth the open tube (the umbilical cord) is closed off, while the closed one (the mouth) is opened. The "mouth" of the embryo is the umbilical cord, whereas a person receives nourishment through the mouth. Thus, in the human body there are several places through which connection and fulfillment from other bodies is carried out: through the mouth, through the umbilical cord, through the birth canal. And the embryo as if rises from the place located between the mother's legs up to her breast. And there it feeds on the mother's milk. Yes, it transitions to breastfeeding and begins to be connected with her breast. In other words, the level of the breast is already a different level of connection with the mother, at which her blood turns into milk.

The connection with the mother takes on a higher informational character: in the mother, blood turns into milk, passes into the child, and once again in it the milk turns into blood.

From this entire process there follows an unambiguous recommendation, that birth should proceed in a natural way.

Yes, it is known that this is beneficial for the health of both the mother and the fetus, in spite of all the painfulness of this process.

What, then, happens during this process?

The release of hormones, an exchange of forces. Thus, of a child born by cesarean section one can say that in a certain sense it is as though it was not born, since it did not go through the natural process of birth. In the same way, the mother is in a state as if she had not yet given birth. For she did not rid herself of the fetus on her own, did not exert pressure on it, and did not push it out. In other words, the two of them are still in an incomplete connection.

In an external connection?

No, it turns out to be just the opposite, in an excessively internal one. And this hinders the development of the child and at the same time seemingly affects the continuation of his mother's attitude toward him.

On this matter there are in fact opinions of psychologists. For there are many processes that take place in the birth canal. Even before the woman's pains begin, the infant passes through many states, moving through something like a vise. There are descriptions of many of these processes, including physical ones. For example, the skin pores open, or the embryo emerges from the "fish" state and its lungs begin to develop. Psychologists say that the birth canal is the first place it comes into upon emerging from the water, where it had no sensation of the boundaries of its body. And suddenly, finding itself squeezed, the infant feels the boundaries of its body very well, thanks to the close contact with the inner surface of the birth canal. This contact during its passage evokes in it the first sensation of the state in which it is already on the outside and not in the water, opens up to it the first internal sensations, and builds up the schema of the body, which subsequently develops.

Yes, it begins to bring all its sense organs into action.

And so it is born! In your view, is it necessary to separate the newborn from the mother immediately after birth? Today in hospitals there are various kinds of approaches, in contrast to the natural one: to immediately place the infant on the mother's belly.

Of course, the newborn must be placed with the mother right away; it should feel only her, it needs to sense the mother, her smell, and that immediately, before all the procedures — the first touch of the mother. For the child, this first sensation in the world — the sensation of the mother — is extremely necessary, as it is for an animal. — In this respect psychology fully agrees with you. It notes the development of the sensations of smell and touch in the infant. Many women are interested in the question: "Should the newborn sleep together with the mother?"

I recommend taking the example of animals. Why do we not learn from them? How do we differ from them? For according to our body we belong to the animate degree. Therefore, of course, the infant should be beside the mother, sleep beside her. Until the age of two it should feel the mother and, possibly, her helpers.

What should the infant's perception of the father's role be?

Only through the mother. He exerts no influence on the infant, either during pregnancy or after its birth. He has no connection with it, no contact whatsoever. All relations between them are possible only through the mother. He can be nearby, but no more than that.

Does the support of the man during birth, during the process itself, have any significance?

In Nature no such practice exists. We know that the role of helpers to women in labor was always filled by female midwives, and men never approached the place where a woman was giving birth.

In the first year of the child's life especially great changes take place in it…

Of course, we see in ourselves that to the extent of our growing older, fewer and fewer changes take place within us. So without a doubt we observe these changes in the first year of the child's life, at the age of a few weeks and even a few days. We also wish to see these changes. And afterward, only once a week does some small change occur, say, upon the child reaching one year of age, while at the age of two the changes occur more rarely, already once a month.

In psychology there are studies of this phenomenon, mainly by E. Erikson, a psychologist in the field of developmental psychology. He described the entire development of a person, beginning from the period of feeding and up to old age, dividing it into 8 stages. Erikson was the first to speak of the whole path of life as a kind of development. However, he divides the first stages into one year, two years, and three.

We define the period of feeding as being from birth up to reaching the age of two. And the subsequent stages, beginning from the age of three and six.

So, today we spoke about the importance of natural birth, about the importance of pain in the process of birth, about the states that the embryo passes through, about its development, about the connection with the mother, about the transition, in the connection with her, to a higher level.