WHO WE ARE

Ten Moons Rising* is a non-profit organization committed to educating the public about Prenatal & Birth Psychology - how our earliest experiences influence our sense of self and experience of life - and offering resources for healing early trauma in infants, children and adults.

 *An average pregnancy lasts 280 days —  equal to ten lunar months, or Ten Moons.


WHAT IS PRENATAL & BIRTH PSYCHOLOGY?

Prenatal & Birth Psychology is the pioneering field of science that, for the last three decades, has been researching how our experiences in the womb, at birth and the first year of life form the blueprint for our subconscious programming, which can have LIFELONG EFFECTS on our self-image, our perceptions, our behavior and relationship patterns, even our physical health. 

Prenatal Psychology explores infant consciousness, viewing infants not simply in terms of limited physical development or brain function, but as conscious, aware beings with capacities that exceed the limitations of the physical body.  

 
WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT

Our experiences of prenatal life, birth and bonding are the very FOUNDATION upon which our lives our built, and it is well-known how important the foundation is in the creation of any structure.  The existence of a faulty foundation is not apparent in the beginning.  But as time passes, the damage it causes grows more visible: cracks is the walls, damage to windows, uneven floors.  People often try to repair the warning signs, but the cost and effort to repair them continually mounts because the SOURCE of the problem is not being addressed.

Current maternity and obstetric practices were established under the false assumptions that infants are not developed, conscious or aware enough to be affected by their experiences.  For example, newborns were routinely operated on without anesthesia as recently as two decades ago!  Even now, mother-baby separation, circumcision, heel sticks, obstetric drugs, labor induction are all routinely administered without regard to how the baby is affected.  However, research clearly shows that birth interventions can form lifelong, limiting IMPRINTS on infants, and have traumatic effects on the birthing mother and father as well.

As Dr. Wendy Anne McCarty and Dr. Marti Glenn outline in Investing in Human Potential from the Beginning of Life , disturbing trends have developed that have been shown to have roots in prenatal development:

Chronic diseases such as obesity, hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke and diabetes may be set in motion in the womb.

Increase in surgical birth from 4.5% in 1965 to 33% in 2007 and the impeded bonding and attachment that can result.

Rising rates of low birth weight and pre-term births that lead to increased complications and poorer outcomes.

Separation of mother and baby as common practice, even though is has been shown to cause physiological distress in newborns, poorer outcomes, less synchrony between mother and baby, and less likelihood of successful breastfeeding.

Unmet needs and unrecognized stress and trauma experienced by the baby during prenatal, birth and neonatal periods can be attributed to be the origins of nearly every mental health disorder and attachment issue in relationships.

Toxic maternal stress, anxiety and depression during the prenatal period has been associated with a growing list of negative outcomes across the lifespan, including:

* higher cortisol (stress hormone) levels in pre-adolescent children          
* depressive symptoms in children ages 10-16
* attention deficit disorder                  
* emotional and regulatory problems
* child temperament                           
* lower mental and motor development scores
* growth-retarded babies                    
* altered brain architecture & regulatory functions
* miscarriage                                      
* preterm labor

OUR INTENTIONS IN OFFERING THIS EDUCATION

Individuals
Learning about our beginnings helps us to understand the patterns that run our lives, and provides insight into who we are and why we do what we do.  Some patterns and behaviors that are limiting forces in our lives that make us feel powerless - like homeowners who are forever pouring their money energy into fixing the symptoms of the faulty foundation.  When the cracks in our lives can be traced back to the core issues that are causing them, the symptoms disappear and we can live our lives on solid ground.  

Parents
An understanding of birth psychology helps us to PREVENT unnecessary stress and trauma in the future, and HEAL the effects of any past experiences that may have been less than ideal.  Although it is very easy for parents to feel guilt over things they may or may not have done, guilt and regret can paralyze us.  A more empowering option is to embrace new information and acknowledge that:

• we always do our best we can
• "when we know better, we do better"  
• every situation is an opportunity to LEARN, GROW and HEAL.  

As our birth and parenting practices begin to reflect the understanding that babies are complex beings who feel deeply, learn and remember, we set the stage for them to blossom into more joyful, confident, compassionate individuals.

As each of us resolves our early experiences, we open a door to more joy and fulfillment in our own lives. Once we begin to find peace and healing as individuals, it extends through our families, into our communities and out into the world.

Ten Moons Rising is a Minnesota-based, 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization.

Photographs courtesy of Dawn Vogel at Luminous Concepts Photography .