donn@sdchema.UUCP (06/08/83)
This little gem of misinformation is from the LA Times (6/7/83, Pt. V, p. 1):
UNBORN BABY'S PERSONALITY MAY BE FORMED IN WOMB
by William Overend, Times Staff Writer
There is increasing evidence that the experiences of unborn babies
during the last few months of development in the womb help shape their per-
sonalities and psychological makeup for the rest of their lives, according
to an expert on the early emotional development of children.
Dr. Thomas Verny, a Canadian psychiatrist and author of "The Secret
Life of the Unborn Child," said in an interview prior to a weekend workshop
at Pepperdine University that significant influences on the unborn range
from parental stress during pregnancy to the kind of music they are exposed
to in the months before birth.
Rock'n'roll is particularly upsetting to the unborn child, possibly
because it is so very tiny and feels threatened by the aggressive overtones
of much rock music, said Verny. He told of one mother who suffered a bro-
ken rib at a rock concert because of her unborn child's strenuous kicks,
interpreted by Verny as an obvious protest rather than a fetal show of
enthusiasm for the performance in question. [N.B. -- I'd hurt too if I
had a baby punching a hole through MY lungs.]
In contrast, Verny said, classical music, religious hymns and some
folk songs appear to soothe the unborn child, whom Verny believes is becom-
ing increasingly aware of the environment outside the womb several months
after conception. There's no firm rule for fetal musical tastes, however.
Since he became interested in the field 13 years ago, Verny has come across
favorable reports on everything from the songs of Peter, Paul and Mary to
the theme from the television series "MASH."
"One woman told me she sang a Peter, Paul and Mary song to her unborn
child every night during her pregnancy," said Verny, unable to recall
exactly which song it was. [N.B. -- Rats.] "Later, that one song always
settled him when nothing else worked. Another woman who always watched
'MASH' during her pregnancy said her baby perked up when it came on after
he was born, as if it had some special meaning for him." [N.B. -- I bet the
baby knew the lyrics.] ...
These are only two of many indications that unborn children have a far
greater consciousness of the world outside the womb than thought in previ-
ous generations, Verny added, comparing the fetus inside the mother to
somebody who has been kidnaped and locked in the trunk of a car, trying to
figure out what's going on from sounds and changes of movement...
"Let's say a man comes to me with a strong hatred of his mother and
doesn't really know why he feels that way, which is something that has hap-
pened," said Verny. "I'd like to get to the bottom of it. Maybe through
some hypnosis or other tool we regress him to a point where he actually
relates a conversation his mother had when she was seven months pregnant
saying she wanted an abortion. That led to a lifelong hatred. Once it was
brought out, hopefully the old feelings gradually changed." [N.B. -- Noam
Chomsky will be glad to hear about this.] ...
"A little aside," said Verny: "A lot of women want a baby of one sex
or another. Half the time they don't get what they want. I think the baby
can pick this up. One woman told me once she had a daughter who was born
angry. It turned out that during her pregnancy she had prayed twice a day
for a son. When we started working with them, the relationship improved.
My advice there is to just hope for a healthy child." [N.B. -- My advice is
to pray BEFORE conception.] ...
"The process of birth should be humanized," Verny said. "Birth is a
celebration, not a disease. Babies should be born in birthing rooms, not
operating rooms. The mother and father should both be there. [N.B. --
Especially the mother.] The umbilical cord should not be cut immediately.
The doctors and nurses should be less intrusive. It would be wonderful if
there was music playing as the baby was born."
Not rock'n'roll. But maybe the theme from "MASH" will do.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
A few notes:
This does NOT appear to be a parody, although I still have a lingering
suspicion...
About rock music: I believe it was Uncle Duke who once said about
the Allman Brothers Band: "His little band does not produce music.
Rather, it emits a field of intensely unpleasant vibrations that can
sterilize frogs at 200 yards." On the positive side, consider what
Jenny and Jimmy Thudpucker found out when they had their son Feedback
("Hi, Jen... Sorry I'm late." -- "That's okay. Our budding percussionist
has kept me grounded anyway..." -- "He's been acting up again?" --
"Hear for yourself. The next show is just beginning." -- BOOM! BOOM!
-- "Wha..." -- BOOM-CHUCKA! BOOM-CHUCKA! -- "Good LORD! The kid's
got a BACK-BEAT!" -- "It's just aggravation to me!" -- DIPPITY-DIP-DIP!
SHUSH! BAM!).
Donn Seeley UCSD Chemistry Dept. RRCF ucbvax!sdcsvax!sdchema!donn
(619) 452-4016 sdamos!donn@nprdcgh@brunix.UUCP (Graeme Hirst) (06/12/83)
This is just the basic idea of Dianetics, with a little musical criticism
added. Hubbard, the founder of Dianetics, had a thing about all the nasty
stuff mothers do and say to their poor fetus. For details, see Martin
Gardner's book "Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science" (Dover Books).
Graeme Hirst, Brown University Computer Science
{allegra, decvax, ihnp4}!brunix!gh gh.brown@udel-relaymark@umcp-cs.UUCP (06/14/83)
This idea that babies are better quiet and worse when active is nothing but infant oppression. Who can tell if the lullabies "soothed" the baby (why would she/he need soothing--what was wrong in the first place) or simply bored her to sleep? I hope nobody ever thinks I am better when I am quiet and something is wrong when I am active. Sounds like a mental institution. -- Mark Weiser
gcsherwood@watcgl.UUCP (Geoffrey C. Sherwood) (06/15/83)
a recent submission:
{
From: gh@brunix.UUCP (Graeme Hirst)
Newsgroups: net.misc,net.music
Subject: Re: Rock Music Considered Harmful to Unborn Children
Message-ID: <3235@brunix.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 12-Jun-83 12:49:33 EDT
Date-Received: Wed, 15-Jun-83 00:54:16 EDT
References: sdchema.591
Lines: 7
This is just the basic idea of Dianetics, with a little musical criticism
added. Hubbard, the founder of Dianetics, had a thing about all the nasty
stuff mothers do and say to their poor fetus. For details, see Martin
Gardner's book "Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science" (Dover Books).
Graeme Hirst, Brown University Computer Science
{allegra, decvax, ihnp4}!brunix!gh gh.brown@udel-relay
}
This is a wonderful example of the logical fallacy "guilt by association."
If you want to criticize an idea, do so on its own merits, NOT by who
subscribes to it.