Birthing Trauma
The trauma caused to the baby through the human birthing process, the result of the evolutionary development of too large a fetal head passing through too small a maternal pelvis. Though its severity varies from person to person, because of its evolutionary nature it is endemic to the human condition. Birthing trauma thus differs from the standard term birth trauma, which relates to injury in specific individuals. Though birthing trauma is physical in origin, its impacts are also psychological, cognitive, and emotional, and a root cause of our misprocessing* and therefore also the universal underlying anguish* of human existence.
Timeline: Diamond developed the concept in the 1990s drawing particularly from the theory of cranial osteopathy, which contends that the uncorrected physical distortions of the body – especially of the skull bones – as a result of the birthing process are the cause of many of our later structural and therefore physiological problems. Another influence on the development of the concept was the book The Runaway Brain (1993) by Christopher Wills.
Quote:
“From the very moment of birth, if we examine it correctly, as the cranial osteopaths do, we will find that the baby’s body is greatly distorted. If it is not corrected he will be doomed from birth to a life of suffering.” (Facets of a Diamond, 251)
Explore:
- Writings:
- “Birthing Trauma and Enlightenment” (Facets of A Diamond, 255-256).
- “The Basic Blind Spot” (Paper)
