APPPAH is a US-based 501-(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a global influence that for over 40 years has been promoting the critical importance of an early nurturing environment for babies - beginning in the womb and beyond. APPPAH’s mission is to support and promote human potential from the very beginning of life by providing global education to professionals and families about emerging evidence in prenatal and perinatal science and birth psychology that babies are conscious and aware and have their own thoughts, feelings, and experiences before, during, and after birth. Birth Psychology is a field of scientific research and observation that explores the impact of our earliest experiences – in the womb, during birth, and throughout infancy. We learn how these early experiences affect our current lives as adults, impacting our physical health, our emotional capacity, our mental beliefs and our social lives. We come to recognize our early adaptive patterns and explore various modalities to re-integrate and heal any traumas or disruptions that might be influencing our foundation of health. We use what we have learned to support a holistic approach to conception, pregnancy, and birth that includes the baby’s experiences as well as those of the parents, family members, and the professionals who support them. APPPAH’s unique contribution is promoting the understanding that early connections and nurturing can begin in the womb - well before birth. For most of recorded history, it has been believed that babies were not capable of thinking, feeling, or having their own experiences before birth or even for many months afterward; however, we now know babies do have their own thoughts, feelings, and experiences even before birth. We know that many children and adults have memories of their birth and events that occurred prenatally. This knowledge informs the way we interact with babies and the way we care for pregnant mothers. We believe that in order to fully prepare for a conscious pregnancy and birth it is beneficial to have the birthing person, her partner and all members of the birth team examine their own birth experiences. These early experiences leave imprints in our somatic implicit memory that influence us throughout our lives. We know through science and much experience that babies are capable of feeling, learning, remembering, and communicating before, during, and after birth. This dramatically changes the ways in which we connect and interact with babies during pregnancy, through the birth process, and throughout infancy. This knowledge makes pregnancy one of the most important periods in a woman’s life and should elevate prenatal care and support of pregnant mothers to the highest priority of our society. Because the physical and emotional wellbeing of pregnant mothers directly impacts the physical and emotional wellbeing of their babies in the womb, protecting this special period for mothers is one of the most significant ways we can influence the wellbeing of our society. APPPAH believes that creating a healthy womb helps to create a healthy world. Raising several generations of securely attached children who can grow up with the motivation and the capacity to find peaceful solutions to our world’s problems may be the best (and perhaps only) hope for our world. Birth is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and pregnancy is a unique opportunity to support the development of a caring and compassionate human being who will help to create a more caring and compassionate society. Having a positive and nurturing womb and birth experience is every baby’s birthright and sets the stage for each baby to reach their highest potential. APPPAH is
