TEN PRINCIPLES OF MOTHER-INFANT BONDING TO CHANGE THE WORLD
James W. Prescott, Ph.D.
Institute of Humanistic Science
From The Truth Seeker March/April 1989

  1. Every pregnancy is a wanted pregnancy. Every child is a wanted child. Unwanted children are typically unloved, abused and neglected and become the next generation of delinquents, psychopaths, violent offenders and alcohol/drug abusers and addicts.

  2. Every pregnancy has proper nutrition and prenatal care - medical and psychological - and is free from a toxic womb of alcohol, drugs, tobacco and other toxic agents of stress.

  3. Natural birthing - avoid where possible obstetrical interventions: medications, forceps, induced labor, episiotomy and premature cutting of umbilical cord. Mother controls birthing position with no separation of newborn from mother. Newborn maintains intimate body contact with mother for breastfeeding and nurturance.

  4. No genital mutilation (Circumcision) of boys or girls. The traumatic pain of newborn-child circumcision adversely affects normal brain development, impairs affectional bonding with mother and has long lasting effects upon how pain and pleasure are experienced in life.

  5. Breastfeeding on demand by newborn/infant/child and for two years or beyond as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF. Failure to breastfeed results in positive harm to normal brain development and to the immunological health of the newborn, infant and child. Encoding the developing with the smell of the mother's body through breastfeeding is essential for the later development of intimate sexuality.

  6. Intimate body contact is maintained between mother and newborn/infant by being carried continuously on the body of the mother for the first year of life. Such continuous gentle body movement stimulation of the newborn/infant promotes optimal brain development and "Basic Trust" for empathic, peaceful and happy behaviors. Mother-infant co-sleeping is encouraged two years or beyond. Mother-infant/child body contact can also be optimized with daily infant/child massage. The father must support mother as a "nurturing mother" and also learn to affectionately bond with his infant and child by being an additional source of physical affection.

  7. Immediate comforting is given to infants and children who are crying. No infant/child should ever be permitted to cry itself to sleep - day or night.

  8. Infants and children are for hugging and should never be physically hit for any reason. Merging childhood parental love with parental violent pain contributes to adult violent love.

  9. Infants and children are honored and should never be humiliated nor emotionally abused for any reason. The emerging sexuality of every child is respected.

  10. Mothers must be honored and not replaced by any institutional day care because it harms children under five years of age.

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