Peace starts in the womb

Up until now in most societies it has been an advantage to control the capacity to love, including our love for nature and to develop the human potential for aggressiveness. "The greater the need to develop aggression and the ability to destroy life, the more intrusive the rituals and cultural beliefs in the period around birth have become" (Odent, 2001, p. 28).

Michel Odent is a French obstetrician who has influenced the history of childbirth and research. He introduced the concept of birthing pools and friendly home-like birthing rooms. He is the founder of the 'Primal Health Research Centre' in London that studies the long-term effects of early experiences and he suggests that the way we are born has long-term consequences on our ability to socialize, our aggressiveness and it seems that our capacity to love is determined by early experiences in the primal period - between conception and the first birthday.

According to Odent the roots of love are at a cellular level, on the surface of cells in the form of receptors; they bind to chemicals that have messages attached to them. When a woman is labouring during childbirth large amounts of the hormone oxytocin are released. Oxytocin is made in the hypothalamus and is responsible for uterine contractions, enables the milk-let-down during breastfeeding, is released during sexual activity in women and men and even in social situations - hence it is the hormone of love!

After the birth skin-to-skin and eye-to-eye contact between mother and baby help to keep oxytocin levels high, thus keeping the mother's uterus contracted and protecting her from postpartum haemorrhage. Oxytocin levels in the baby peak at around thirty minutes after birth. Both mother and baby are bathed in the 'hormone of love' during the first hour after birth for bonding and attachment.

The sensitive first hour is often disturbed by procedures like rushed cord cutting, bathing and dressing, cultural rituals, the denial of colostrum or modern life habits - I have seen mothers giving birth and instead of receiving their baby they pick up their mobile phone in order to send text messages to all their friends!

Current rates of induction and augmentation of labour with synthetic oxytocin are high. Synthetic oxytocin does not cross the woman's blood-brain barrier and does not act as the hormone of love. On the contrary it makes the woman's own oxytocin release ineffective. With caesarean surgery the peaks of oxytocin in mother and baby are absent or reduced.

If the birthing woman believes in herself, her baby will be born imprinted with the same self-confidence. Every baby born into an environment of safety and peace will be a person imprinted with that same sense of peace. What better way to enter the world?

To be continued...