The Prenatal Origins of Health
How Movement Shapes Development in Utero and Throughout Life

By Stephanie Mines, PhD | Prenatal Health

SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT, BEGINNING IN UTERO, IS A DESIGN FOR SURVIVAL

The Social Engagement System is another term for the Twelve Cranial Nerves. The perception of pain depends upon nerve pathways that move through the spinal column to the brain. These pathways are established very early (in the first eight weeks in utero) because they must be used immediately. The inhibitory pathways that block pain, on the other hand, are not in place until after birth. This is a biological, physiologic design based on the hormonal attunement between mother and child. However, the industrialized birthing process and the disruptions of the primal period have distorted this innate plan.

Maternal biology and function are the brain behind the intricate and precise physiological development of the human being. Original Brilliance, entelechy or unique giftedness, evolves in response to our prenatal experiences of communicating need and being seen and met. Embryos actually feel pain more thoroughly than a neonate because of the absence of the inhibitory nerve pathways. Embryos rely on their mothers for protection and attunement.

Embryos try to protect themselves from toxins and threat. Their gestures in utero reveal this. Facial grimaces, hand clenching, leg withdrawal and hormonal gestures like increased cortisol and noradrenalin signal to the mother’s body that the baby needs comforting. If mother doesn’t comfort, then the baby develops compensatory patters of behavior that continue postnatally.

(Embryo responds to cigarette smoke)

Recent neurological studies suggest that brain cells grow in response to external sound, according to psychiatrist Thomas Verny (1981, 1991). In utero, the fetus experiences the mother’s emotional state through her language and voice tone. The baby will communicate its responses to its mother’s voice through its movement in utero.

STRESS AND STRUCTURE

“The myofascial bed of the embryo responds to habitual tension with a localized increase of fibroblasts and increased secretion of fiber in the direction of pull. This creates a tough envelope that encases the muscle, reducing its capacity to lengthen or move freely.”

n R. Louis Schultz, Rosemary Feitis, The Endless Web

Fascial sheaths get snagged on bones. Bony projections such as the lumbar sacral promontory (LSP), the coccyx, and the coracoid process inside the shoulder, are places where fascia gets interrupted, limiting function. This is also true with broader surfaces, such as the upper rim of hip bones, the lower ribs and shin bones.

These movement inhibitions can be relieved through attuned manual therapy of various kinds, even massage, with an anatomically and neurodevelopmentally informed therapist. This therapy is significantly enhanced when it is accompanied by trauma-informed and culturally sensitive emotional and spiritual support.

Ideally, movements travel through the entire body and length of the spine. Healthy movement transmits like a wave throughout the entire body. Arm movement, for instance, results in a wave that ripples though the neck and head. This begins, or stops, in utero.

Chronic movement restrictions or holding patterns due to inhibitions such as those that occur when movement is not welcomed, responded to, or reciprocated, create structural malformations that may not surface until later in life. For instance, the arm movement described in the previous paragraph, if not sequenced, can result in a distorted back hump that might not manifest until elderhood.

The spinal columns’ 186 joints are involved in every movement of the body. Breathing, one of the primary gestures of the embryo, thoroughly reflects this. A holding pattern in any of these joints restricts the spine.

The spinal column is constantly moving in response to the embryo’s primary expressions in breath, heartbeat, blood circulation and cranial rhythm. The elasticity of the surrounding connective tissue supports this continuity of movement. When tissue is dense there is a thickening restriction that results in pain.

Fascia/ Connective tissue, © Jean-Claude Guimberteau

When movement areas are not stimulated, blood circulation is also restricted. Nutrients do not flow into the developing embryo. Wastes are not eliminated and lubricants dry up. Connective tissue mats, a thickened matrix develops, and the body distorts accordingly.

The implications of the kinds of movements that occur in utero has not been sufficiently investigated. In my own theoretical research, I find that the experiences of individuals that are remembered through a process that I have created called The Rediscovery Journey™ is the most reliable source for revelations about the magnificence of embryonic unfolding and the evolution of what I call Original Brilliance that leads to meaningful and resilient incarnation.