Prenatal and perinatal psychology

Prenatal psychology can be seen as a part of developmental psychology, although historically it was developed in the heterogenous field of psychoanalysis. Its scope is the description and explanation of experience and behaviour of the individual before birth and postnatal consequences as well. In so far as the actual birth process is involved one can consider this perinatal psychology. Pre- and perinatal aspects are often discussed together.

Prenatal and perinatal psychology explores the psychological and psychophysiological effects and implications of the earliest experiences of the individual, before birth (prenatal), as well as during and immediately after childbirth (perinatal). Although there are various perspectives on the topic, a common thread is the importance of prenatal and perinatal experiences in the shaping the future psychological development. There is a debate among scientists regarding the extent to which newborn infants are capable of forming memories, the effects of any such memories on their personality, and the possibility of recovering them from an unconscious mind, which itself is the subject of argument in the field. A widespread assumption concerning the prenatal phase was that the fetus is almost completely shielded from outside stimuli. Thus, perception and consciousness would develop after birth. Meanwhile, there is a great amount of scientific studies which show clearly that behaviour, perception and learning is already developed before birth. This also holds for subhuman species, as for rat fetuses acoustic conditioning can be demonstrated.

The physiological development while the prenatal phase – especially that of the brain – is of particular importance for any prenatal psychology. In the first eight weeks after insemination the developing child is called embryo. After the inner organs have developed (from the ninth week on) it is called fetus.

The basis of perception, experience, and behaviour is the brain. While in gestation, a giant neuronal net is developing, delivering the condition for any mental process. About half of the developing neurons become destroyed again while the development of the brain because of the "programmed cell death“ (apoptosis). At birth the infantile brain contains 100 billion neurons – as many as in the brain of an adult. At birth, every cortical neuron is connected with about 2500 neurons; after a year, with about 15 000. Synapses develop, and are destroyed, over the whole life span, - a process called neuroplasticity.

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