About Us

Perinatus Foundation was established by the psychologists, mental health counselors and other professionals who, together with Katalin Orosz as their professional leader, are committed to researching intrauterine life, pregnancy and birth together with their psychological effects. After several years of research and preparation, the Foundation launched its public activities at the beginning of 2010 in order to contribute to improving the circumstances of pregnancy, birth and labor as well as helping individuals deal with their birth experience psychologically with its research results, a wide range of supporting services and psychotherapy.

Learn more about our objectives.

Click here for a brief summary of our psychotherapy group entitled “Birth and Rebirth“.

Read an outline about the theoretical background of our work.

If you are interested in finding out more about relevant theoretical backgrounds, please visit the website of the Primal Health Research Institute led by Michel Odent: http://www.primalhealthresearch.com/

Available database: http://www.primalhealthresearch.com/search.php

Michel Odent and Frederic Leboyer are great pioneers who developed a new concept of birth. You can read various books about this topic, including:

Leboyer: Birth without Violence
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Birth-without-Violence-Frederick-Leboyer/dp/1905177305
http://www.amazon.com/VIOLENCE-Frederick-Hardcover-throughout-Leboyers/dp/B001MM1NLK

Odent: Scientification of Love
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Scientification-Love-Michel-Odent/dp/1853434760
http://www.amazon.com/Scientification-Love-Michel-Odent/dp/1853434760

To read more about Odent’s current activities, please visit: http://www.primalhealthresearch.com/

An important article on pre- and perinatal research published in TIME Magazine: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2021065,00.html

Perinatus Foundation

Perinatus Foundation for the mental-physical health of childbirth
By today, scientific research analyzing the circumstances of childbirth has proven that events occurring in the period directly preceding and succeeding birth have crucial effects on human life. Amongst other things, these influence the ability to make connections and adapt to changes, mental growth or even general state of health. As a consequence, the possibility of psychological traumas influencing various aspects of society such as receding demographic indicators or decreasing quality of life may arise.

Childbirth is the first real separation and substantial change in one’s life and as such, it is a significant event from both physical and psychological aspects. It does actually matter how those present approach and handle the newborn, whether the infant’s psychological needs are acknowledged beyond mere physical needs. In absence of this sensitive type of attendance, the baby may develop multiple psychological traumas that may necessitate subsequent professional treatment.

For the appropriate care of newborn babies experiencing a very sensitive moment of their lives, pre- and perinatal psychology should be integrated into the obstetric practice. This requires the introduction of a new approach to pedagogical and pediatric practices to enable experts to recognize the birth-related problems that children may face growing up and refer them to the competent professionals ready to handle these issues.

Making scientific results and methods that help identify and heal their own birth trauma available for adults also proves essential.

Furthermore, it is important to reevaluate the role of the mother and father in childbirth, supporting the development of a new quality in the parent-child relationship and the parental responsibilities. That is why one of Perinatus’s focuses falls on granting parents expecting their child the opportunity to prepare for their roles both mentally and psychologically.

Our mission lies in the scientific research of the psychological aspects of birth, as well as developing and applying psychotherapeutic methods in preventing and healing birth-related psychological traumas. Perinatus Foundation works to promote a major shift in society’s attitude that is necessary to implement this new knowledge.

To achieve these objectives, our Foundation supports the psychological research of birth trauma, the development and introduction of new preventive and healing procedures, and promotes the publication, education and informative spread of this new knowledge, attitude and methods discovered by the research on the level of the whole society..

Birth and Rebirth

A self-experience psychotherapy group

Over the three day-long psychotherapeutic group, participants learn basic facts about birth and look at this transformative event from a baby’s point of view. The process offers those attending various opportunities to explore their birth experience with the help of tools like visualization and bodywork. Throughout the process, no suggestive techniques like hypnotization are used to influence participants, so that everybody has the space to discover and understand as much of their related memories and feelings as they are ready to face. Since elaborating past experiences is as important as identifying them, the group’s three days carry many situations that help participants digest and process whatever experience emerged in them – drawing, writing and sharing is used to facilitate this.

Birth is the first major difficulty in life that we must cope with, the first and probably one of the greatest challenges that we face. We must say goodbye to our existence as a fetus, we need more space and a different environment to be able to develop. Our birth is the first major change in life and being so, it becomes a basic pattern of how we solve our problems later on. As we walk through life, the events that we encounter and experience may trigger this pattern – it may often be unconsciously recalled and repeated.

This is why it is important to deal with our birth trauma and heal it with the tools of psychotherapy. Exploring, understanding and digesting this experience may help us develop openness to change and discover a spiritual path of life that lies beyond the intellect. Going through this hard, yet wonderful adventure may lead us to a feeling of rebirth, and enable us to live our life being freer and more accomplished.

Over past years, great contributions have been made to the development of our approach and methodology: Nico Vissel’s holotrop breathing group and András Feldmár, developer of one of the body work exercises must be mentioned here, while many others also contributed by walking before us on the path of exploring the self. The greatest inspiration, however, came from the circle of devoted colleagues and friends who spent the past decade studying the subject of birth with us and experimenting together.

Some introductory thoughts

Giving birth represents a special experience for the mother, too – women preserve a distinct memory of their labor in one way or another. When, having worked on it, a mother (and father) in labor is at peace with their own birth experience, they may be more available for their baby, not having to deal with their own unconsciously emerging and potentially interfering emotional memories. This way they can concentrate more on their baby’s needs, be more responsive, what gives the baby great support in going through her own birth process and reduces the chances of a trauma.

Surprising as this idea may sound, fathers also go through a similar spiritual experience when their baby is born – that is, their child’s birth may resonate with their own birth experience. This is why young men may also profit a lot from exploring their own birth.

The deep digestion process after the group may take months – it means that a wide range of feelings and memories may emerge, potentially causing some emotional strain. This is natural, yet, it is important to support our process and grant ourselves the necessary time and space to let all this happen.

Perhaps some participants develop more interest in themselves or the spiritual, emotional aspects of life. If it is necessary for the inner process, psychotherapy is recommended.

Birth may grant us the key for our inner spiritual rebirth, too.

Practical information about the workshop

Time:
30 hours, Friday evening, all day Saturday and Sunday,
then a 4 hour-long follow-up session in a month’s time.

Number of participants:
10-12

Applicants are asked to participate in an interview before the workshop.

Please remember to bring along:
light, comfortable clothes
a notebook, pen or pencil
your favorite pillow and blanket
some food and drink for the weekend.

Avoid drinking alcohol, taking drugs or other substances, heavy meals and staying up late at night.
During the course you are advised to drink more than usual.

Group held by:
Katalin Orosz clinical psychologist, transpersonal therapist and six assistants.

For more information:
please contact us via e-mail: kheiron@kheiron.org