The handbook synthesizes the comprehensive interdisciplinary research on the psychological and behavioral dimensions of life before, during, and immediately after birth. It examines how experiences during the prenatal period are associated with basic physiological and psychological imprints that last a lifetime and explores the ways in which brain networks reflect these experiences. Chapters offer findings on prenatal development, fetal programming, fetal stress, and epigenetics. In addition, chapters discuss psychotherapy for infants – before, during, and after birth – as well as prevention to promote positive health and well-being outcomes. Topics featured in this handbook include: Contemporary environmental stressors and adverse pregnancy outcomes The psychology of newborn intensive care. Art therapy and its use in treating prenatal trauma. The failures and successes of Cathartic Regression Therapy. Prenatal bonding and its positive effects on postnatal health and well-being. The role of family midwives and early prevention. The cultural meaning of prenatal psychology. The Handbook of Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology is an essential resource for researchers, clinicians and related professionals, as well as graduate students in a wide range of interrelated disciplines, including developmental psychology, pediatric and obstetrical medicine, neuroscience, infancy and early child development, obstetrics and gynecology, nursing, social work, and early childhood education.

During the course of about 100 years, Prenatal Psychology has developed from an initially intuitive insight within the scope of psychoanalysis into a broad interdisciplinary field of science. Otto Rank began his study of the possible effect of birth experiences in 1904, finally publishing his book the Trauma of Birth in 1923. With these two dates marking Rank's contribution, it can be said that Prenatal & Perinatal Psychology is approximately 100 years of age. Since then, due to the laborious, dedicated work of Pioneers in the field, what was once a hidden mystery now is common knowledge. Prenatal Life Matters! Today, there is more and more evidence on how our early beginnings from pre-conception to early after birth can affect our Health, our Relationships and our Quality of Life. In this book, you will find a complete guide as to what we now know in the field of Prenatal Psychology and you can get vital keys to understanding how our primal experience shapes who we become.

How does a mother's tone of voice affect her unborn child? What kind of music, if any, should a child be exposed to in the womb? Can parents influence the predispositions of their child to traits like depression, or something as elusive as basic goodness? Thanks to revolutionary discoveries in neuroscience and developmental psychology in recent years, says Dr. Thomas Verny, we now know more about these questions than ever. In Pre-Parenting, Dr. Verny translates this research into practical advice for parents and parents-to-be. Pre-Parenting explains how even the most ordinary events can evoke a cascade of biological changes in a baby -- not only in the brain but also in the immune system and throughout the body. Every experience, from a baby's trip down the birth canal to the way she is held or spoken to, can shape her health and personality. An internationally recognized expert in early human development, Dr. Verny shows parents how to use this new information to create an ideal environment for their babies, enhance their babies' intelligence and social skills, and become better parents through "conscious parenting." Insightful and encouraging, Pre-Parenting is an invaluable guide for parents who want to help actualize their child's full potential, beginning with conception.

The handbook synthesizes the comprehensive interdisciplinary research on the psychological and behavioral dimensions of life before, during, and immediately after birth. It examines how experiences during the prenatal period are associated with basic physiological and psychological imprints that last a lifetime and explores the ways in which brain networks reflect these experiences. Chapters offer findings on prenatal development, fetal programming, fetal stress, and epigenetics. In addition, chapters discuss psychotherapy for infants - before, during, and after birth - as well as prevention to promote positive health and well-being outcomes. Topics featured in this handbook include: Contemporary environmental stressors and adverse pregnancy outcomes The psychology of newborn intensive care. Art therapy and its use in treating prenatal trauma. The failures and successes of Cathartic Regression Therapy. Prenatal bonding and its positive effects on postnatal health and well-being. The role of family midwives and early prevention. The cultural meaning of prenatal psychology. The Handbook of Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology is an essential resource for researchers, clinicians and related professionals, as well as graduate students in a wide range of interrelated disciplines, including developmental psychology, pediatric and obstetrical medicine, neuroscience, infancy and early child development, obstetrics and gynecology, nursing, social work, and early childhood education.

Taking the understanding of birth psychology and infant psychology one step earlier, this book addresses the psychology of the nine months of life prior to birth. With advances in technology, especially 3D and 4D sonography, it is now possible to observe prenatal behavior in utero. This book addresses the theory, underlying physiological mechanisms, and psychology of the human person prior to birth.

Cultivating Mindfulness to Raise Children Who Thrive introduces an expanded view of human development and health, which begins before conception and moves through pregnancy, early childhood and adulthood. This book is a call for all prenatal and perinatal professionals and policy makers to appreciate indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing and integrate them with scientific evidence in the care of expectant parents and their babies. It explains how this could also tackle pressing social issues facing the modern world and favour social innovations through a revaluation of preconception, pregnancy, birth and childcare practices. Sansone presents the reader with scientific discoveries of epigenetics, interpersonal neuroscience, quantum physics, attachment, anthropology, prenatal and perinatal psychology and mindfulness, which interestingly resonate with the intuitions of primal wisdom. The book will be of interest to clinicians, policy makers, researchers, parents, and those interested in the prenatal and perinatal roots of human development and well-being.

In this first compendium in the growing literature of behavioral teratology, readers will discover an easy-to-access, concise presentation that covers a huge range of subjects. The book synthesizes important findings that help explain why prenatal events may result in abnormal behavior and learning disabilities later in life. It goes further to examine the role of prenatal perturbations in conditions as varied as dyslexia, schizophrenia, fetal alcohol syndrome, and autism.

Pre- and postnatal psychology and medicine belong closely together, encompassing anthropological, biological and psychological aspects. Both psychoanalysis and infant mental health research have contributed largely to the subject, as have neonatology and social pediatrics. The human being seems to commence at the point of birth, when families are founded. Yet even before, during the prenatal period, significant influences on the unborn child and on mothers-to-be have been observed on different levels. The volume contributes to integrating clinical theory and practice through presenting research findings from the maternal perspective and from both the unborn and the infant perspective, putting them in a practical context. It emphasizes the need to view the human being as bio-psycho-social being, thus providing a possible integration of psychic and somatic approaches. Topics included are, among others, psychosomatic obstetrics, unborn and infant development, fetal brain development, parental dealings with preterm delivery, neonatal care, psychotherapy, and medical psychology of reproduction. Clinical accounts from international experts serve a panoramic view of pre- and postnatal factors affecting human personality, providing readers with seminal issues from conception through child development.