Kathryn* called me about working with her son, Gregory*, feeling sure that his birth was contributing to his expressions of anger at home and at school. Gregory has an older sister that had come over a two year span to work on her difficult birth with her parents. Now a mother educated about the impact of birth patterns, Kathryn felt that if we worked on her son's birth, it would help the anger issues.

Gregory was a naturally conceived child, which elated Kathryn and her husband. She used assisted reproductive technology with her first child. At the end of her pregnancy, Gregory turned breech and the doctors scheduled her c-section at 39 weeks. Unbeknownst to her, Gregory had turned head down and was ready for birth by the time of the surgery. Still, the doctor went ahead and performed the c-section, informing Kathryn later of the fact that really, they didn't need the surgery. 

"He wasn't ready to be born," Kathryn said to me during the intake for Gregory's session.

Babies who are born without any trial of labor (birth initiated by the baby) often feel that their impulse is thwarted, that they were pulled or forced out before they were ready. Many babies have an idea about, plan or intention to be born. Hence, the anger and frustration of people like Gregory when told "no," or during transitions. For these children, we use what Ray Castellino calls Empowerment Games. We meet them with their big energy, their "no," and their natural aggression that can come up when conditions are similar to the sudden, unplanned c-section. These conditions may include: transitions that are sudden and not planned well (many induced or c-section babies will need a lot of preparation), or sudden actions on the part of children, parents, or other adults. They can have sudden and intense expressions of anger and frustration that may include hitting, pushing, yelling, kicking, and biting. Gregory had all of these emotional expressions. The trick is to not make the child feel bad and allow for the child to express his feelings safely.

Upon entering my office, Gregory wanted to explore and see everything. He was a delightful boy with a lot of energy. He laughed easily and we had fun together. We went into my bathroom and had fun taking a pretend shower, soaping up and getting clean first. Then we settled down to play. We had several cars (firetruck, schoolbus and police) that played together. He had the firetruck, I had the police car and his mother had the schoolbus. True to form of needing to express his feelings of empowerment, Gregory's car began to hit other cars. We enforced no hitting the cars but we brought out a big pillow and hit the pillow with lots of joy. Kathryn had played with me with her other child, and together we met his big energy with lots of yells and pounds. I had the car that was hit, and this car became sad and felt hurt. This mother/child dyad burst into a song from Daniel Tiger:

This is great play session to repattern early difficulty. Kathryn at times employs repatterning using story telling as well, telling the kids about their birth difficulties and then retelling the story of how they wanted it to go. But allowing children to have their big feelings in a safe way, through play and story-living is optimal!

See more about Family Sessions by clicking here.

This is an excellent and thorough interview with an expert practitioner/teacher in early trauma healing. If you are curious about what trauma healing is about, especially somatic trauma healing, have a listen.

Please enjoy this webinar on working with babies that I did with John Wilks for Ehealthlearning.com

Happy New Year!

This promises to be a big year for me, as I am launching my own official training program in helping practitioners understand early prenatal and perinatal imprints.  These early experiences starting preconception can have a lifelong impact.  My colleague, Brigit Viksnins and I are offering 5 modules of information and practice call Prenatal and Perinatal Dynamics in Private Practice.  Other seminars and training include the successful Leading Edge seminars, more Baby Dynamics (level 3), Womb Surround Process workshops, and a Foundations in Prenatal and Perinatal Dynamics course that anyone can take.

This year, my intention is be a part of a conscious community where there is accountability and responsibility, where I can say No with Love and advocate for myself without shame.  I started that intention looking around me, wanting something different for myself.  Then I realized that I really needed to start within.  The first step for me is taking responsibility for the amount of education and experience that I have.  I am raising my rates for some of my practices, and most especially the trauma resolution skills.

Rates go up January 15, 2018:
Somatic Experiencing: $110, 
Integrated Bodywork $100 for 1 hour, and $130 for 1 hour 30 minutes
Bodywork for Stability, Trauma Resolution and Resiliency, $130
Prenatal Postnatal Massage, stays the same at $90
Baby Bodywork and Family Sessions, stays the same, at $75 for one session, $175 for 3

Package of 5, 1 hour sessions: $450.00
Package of 3, 1 hour sessions: $280.00

I also want to expand my MotherCare VA practice to include some new trainings I am in and one that I am writing:  Becoming Us, Consciously Parenting and The Conscious Baby Program for Parents.  Data has shown that support during pregnancy, and communication with the unborn baby increased birth outcomes and decreases postpartum depression.  Look for more support for families with babies, inside and out in 2018.

Podcast Interviews in 2017.  Enjoy:
Listen to this Interview with Kate White on her work with mothers and babies! It was completed by Rebecca Thompson-Hitt, Director and Founder of The Consciously Parenting Learning Center.

Here is another interview with Ryan Hallford on the www.craniosacralpodcast.com/episode-62/Craniosacral Podcast completed in September, 2017.

Enjoy this podcast with Dr. Jay Warren about my work with families recovering from difficult births: Why Didn't Anyone Tell Me?