Our conception, prenatal, birth and bonding experiences can have profound and long lasting impact on our lives. Many life issues have their origins in the prenatal environment, including addictions, illness, depression, co-dependency, anxiety and seemingly unbreakable cycles in relationships.
The way we initiate, carry through projects or goals, give and receive love, separate our thoughts and feelings from those of others, and respond to time and space pressures all have roots in this period of development. Because these experiences are so fundamental to our existence we may view our situation as "the way things are" and "the way I am." We may not question "the way things are" or "the way I am" or we may feel hopeless and powerless to change. We may not be able to imagine a different way of being or feel that we have a choice in the matter.
Many signs point to pre- and perinatal influence. These can be language cues, energetic patterns, ways of holding the body, behaviors and/or beliefs.
The story I have written for these pages illustrate many ways in which the pre and perinatal time influenced my life. My housing situation (cold, dark, small, no emergency exits) resembled the womb I had grown in. My financial situation -unable to make more than $1200- represented the exact amount my father paid my mother to bring me to term. My relationships replayed the story of my conception, abandonment and betrayal. The language and feeling in the story reflect my experience of being stuck, frozen, having no choice, feeling like a victim of my experience.
My story and experience are dramatic in the sense that, as an adoptee in the closed adoption system, I did not have any conscious knowledge of the story of my conception, prenatal time and birth. Searching and finding my birthparents at the age of 25 led me to confirm and make conscious that which my body already knew.
I work with many people, those that are adopted and those that are not. I find these issues affect many people, as the birth experience is so profound.
Issues surrounding personal empowerment, relationships, finances, and housing (a metaphor for sense of home and belonging in the world) have transformed for me, and I am confident that they can for you.
For More Information on Prenatal and Perinatal Issues: