This article discusses the integration of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy with a family therapy treatment, which was designed for treating mothers and their babies from conception through the first year of life. The Calming Womb Family Therapy Model (CWFTM) is a multidisciplinary, Integrative, early intervention approach. Its foundations originate from Murray Bowen's family model of understanding the individual in the context of their families as emotional interactive systems; Selma Fraiberg's psychodynamic work and psychoeducational interventions with mothers and infants to resolve maternal trauma and transference reactions to their babies followed by educational guidance in infant development through the first year of their lives; and EMDR therapy. EMDR therapy can improve internal resources for expectant mothers; monitor their levels of psychological distress; and enable them to access and process traumatic memories, other adverse life experiences, recent stressors, and pre-perinatal concerns and bring them to adaptive resolution. EMDR therapy can also help pregnant mothers develop imaginal templates of future events that incorporate in utero developmental prenatal education and deepen their bonds with their babies. The pre-perinatal psychotherapist's knowledge of infant development and capacity for interpersonal warmth, affect tolerance, somatic resourcing, reflective stance, and relational attunement can provide a fertile ground for the expectant mother and womb baby relationship and enriching life together. The ultimate goal is to conceive and rear healthy children.
Maternal (Klaus, Kennell & Klaus, 1996) bonding during pregnancy is associated with positive infant attachment, whereas unresolved, dissociated trauma, chronic affect dysregulation, and obstetric complications during pregnancy seem to alter the bonding experience often resulting in broken bonds. The Calming Womb Family Therapy Model (CWFTM) is a comprehensive, collaborative, team-based, early intervention approach which is intended for treating mothers and their babies from conception through the first year after birth. This model builds a strong early bond between mother-child from the point of conception, which nurtures secure post birthing infant attachment. Its basis is from Murray Bowen's family approach that understands families as interconnected systems with potential for intergenerational trauma transmission, and Selma Fraiberg's psychoeducational and psychodynamic work with mothers, and infants to resolve traumatic transferences to their babies while enhancing the mothers' infant developmental knowledge. The CWFTM expands Fraiberg's work back to conception to strengthen the bond between the mother-baby dyad, and treats the baby in utero as a family participant. CWFTM uses Eye movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) to process maternal unresolved trauma, transference reactions to the baby, and coordinates services with the pregnant mother's medical teams, social supports, and involved family members. The ultimate goal of the model is to assess and treat dissociated trauma and grief of the mothers' past, facilitating strong bonds and attunement between mothers and their babies. Pregnancy is a great source of enjoyment, hope, and anticipation for most women; it may also bring on anxiety, distress, depression, trauma, and feelings of ambiguity (Talley, 2013). Parenting, maternal bonding, and biological effects on fetal development begin before birthing (Daglar & Nur, 2018; Glover & Capron, 2017). Even though pregnancy is a major phase of life for women and their families, prenatal therapeutic interventions are frequently overlooked. Prenatal early interventions support vulnerable mothers who have preexisting trauma or who may be at high risk for prenatal stress. Reducing mothers' intense fear of childbirth or Tokophobia while increasing their preparedness for labor predicts increase positive bonding and motherhood (Klabbers et al., 2016; Salmela-Aro et al., 2011). Daglar and Nur (2018) found that as prenatal bonding level increases, so does the level of postpartum
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