Birth Trauma and The Dark Side of Modern Medicine

birth trauma

“May these unconscious parents awaken one day soon and apologize to their children for the harm that they have caused. And may their children find solace in knowing that there was at least one person, one voice, who tried to speak on their behalf, who wanted to protect them, and who really, really cared.”

 The following excerpt is from the book Birth Trauma and the Dark Side of Modern Medicine by Jeanice Barcelo.

A short time ago, on December 31, 2014, someone close to me gave birth to beautiful baby boy who is the newest member of his family to carry the intergenerational burden of birth trauma. The baby’s birth destiny was hijacked through elective induction which forced him to be expelled from the womb before he was ready to be born. The baby’s birthdate was chosen based on the convenience of the obstetrician, in combination with the United States military’s last minute decision to allow the baby’s father to take a short leave in order to attend the birth of his son.

Because of the induction of labor, which was not medically necessary or indicated, Baby X was subjected to all manner of technological interference in his birth, including the use of dangerous pharmacological drugs that are known to disrupt bonding and breastfeeding and create lifelong, damaging imprints in the child. Despite my attempts to warn Baby X’s mother about the dangers of induction and circumcision, (and to warn his grandmother and his great grandmother as well), none of these matriarchal figures had any regard for the information I shared and, sadly, a very damaging birth experience was inflicted on this tiny newborn babe.

Baby X’s mother also chose to have epidural anesthesia during her labor which, no doubt, effectively numbed her experience of her child’s birth. Yet, while she herself may have been saved from feeling the extremely intense, unrelenting, artificially-induced contractions of an induced birth, her baby was forced to endure the pain of those contractions all alone. Moreover, since epidural anesthesia tricked his mother’s body and disrupted the production of the natural opiates and beta endorphins of birth (all of which are necessary to make the birth process pleasurable for both mother and child), Baby X was forced to experience MORE pain than if his birth had been natural and without drugs. The epidural also separated Baby X from his mother since she could no longer feel her baby (or her own body) and since she could, therefore, do nothing to help her baby get born. Thus, Baby X was left with absolutely no support from his mother during the last hours of his birth and was forced to navigate the process alone.

Worst of all is the fact that, within the first 24 hours of his life, Baby X’s parents handed him over to medical butchers who sexually tortured and genitally mutilated him through the procedure that they call circumcision – done 96% of the time in the U.S without anesthesia. As a result of this extremely traumatizing, medically unnecessary, brain damaging surgery, it is likely that Baby X will never feel safe in the world or properly bond with his mother or father as he cannot trust that they will protect him from harm.

Making matters worse is the fact that Baby X’s parents are likely to remain in complete denial of the trauma that they have caused their newborn son. And since the rest of the baby’s family also refuses to acknowledge the trauma, there is no one that Baby X can turn to for support.

Because of the information that I shared with Baby X’s mother and grandmother prior to the birth (which information clearly outlined the damage that could ensue as a result of induction and circumcision), I have been prohibited from seeing or interacting with Baby X. The saddest part of this is that I am the only one (that I am aware of) who can help Baby X because I am the only one who is willing to acknowledge the violence that was inflicted upon him and who has the skills to help him heal.

Unfortunately, the compulsion of Baby X’s family to pass on their own birth trauma to their young is far greater than their instinct to protect him or help him heal. And as a result, I have not been permitted to reach out to Baby X or to offer him my heart’s knowing of the pain that he has endured. With each day that passes that his trauma goes unacknowledged, the deeper is the wound that will influence his life.

And so, the lineage of birth trauma marches on, having infected yet another generation of children who, “with each generation… [become] more disconnected, more fractured from the truly human being that would otherwise be…”1 And with each generation the trauma escalates and the children become sicker, sadder, and less and less able to experience what it means to be truly loved and/or to deeply connect with their souls.

Therefore, I am dedicating this book to Baby X and to all the children born to parents who refuse to heal and transform. May these unconscious parents awaken one day soon and apologize to their children for the harm that they have caused. And may their children find solace in knowing that there was at least one person, one voice, who tried to speak on their behalf, who wanted to protect them, and who really, really cared.

I’m sorry Baby X, for what they have done to you. And until my last breath, I will continue to speak out about these outrageous betrayals and expose the abusers for who and what they are.