[White Dove]

Has anyone felt that they through their therapy they have brought up memories of their birth? I'm wondering if I have - it sort of feels like I have, but I can't quite believe it. I've had a lot of body memories come up in my therapy, but I'm not sure what to make of this.

I have several memories of birth, coming home from the hospital, my first few weeks in the crib, the wintertime when I was two months old, and much more.

[divine1966]

Nope. I don't think it's scientifically possible.

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[SoConfused623]

Memories of my birth??? I don't really even have memories of my childhood. I think that I have the worst memory ever and honestly, my childhood was not that bad for me to have stuffed all of those memories. I have to ask my siblings when I want to recall childhood stuff!

[Ididitmyway]

Yes, these things do come up in therapy, very rarely but they do. I know this for a fact. I know people who had the memories of birth come up during therapy and they were confirmed as facts by their mothers who described what had happened during deliveries. The events they described were very consistent with the memories of their children that surfaced in therapy. Our bodies remember many things that our conscious minds can't remember, and from time to time those memories may become conscious remembrance, possibly at the times when we instinctively feel that it's safe to pull those experience into conscious awareness.

I have heard of this, but have not experienced it.

I believe that such a thing is possible.

Seems possible since I have many of those memories so the possibility does in fact exist.

[White Dove]

Thanks for the replies, on the one hand it does seem that it is not scientifically possible, on the other hand, a lot of things happen in this world that don't seem to be possible, I think we don't know everything. I'll never know whether this is a memory of birth. I was thinking, suppose it is, why is it coming up? I hope there is some use to it coming up.

This is very interesting. I never felt I had memories of birth (or anything before age ~4) but I am curious as to why would it be scientifically impossible? The brain is definitely not fully developed until mid 20's, but it's developed enough at the time of birth to generate, process, and store memories, as far as I know. I would think it's more that those memories tend to fall out of our conscious awareness or never enter it?

[divine1966]

I don't care either way. I just said " I don't think it is scientifically possible". Which means just my opinion. Didn't mean to start scientific debate. I personally don't even care how I was born as it was 50 years ago and it's irrelevant to me. If others remember and it's important to them it is fine. It's just my opinion that one cannot recall what happened to them when they were new born. I wonder how and why it was brought up in therapy and what's therapeutic benefit of it.

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[sub-dural]

It is quite scientifically impossible to have memory of your birth.

The only part of your brain developed enough to do anything is your primal brain - hippocampus, amygdala, and hypothalamus.

You may have an emotional memory stored in your primal brain, a physical one - but not a coherent memory in terms of how an adolescent --> adult has a coherent long-term memory. The part of your brain for processing memories is not developed, yet, putting first memories much later (1-3, sometimes 4 or 5 years old) (in a normal developing brain). That is when your brain can actual process all external stimuli, make sense of it, and keep it.

I am not implying a memory or even of yours is inaccurate. But an actual coherent long-term memory is impossible. Maybe your birth was discussed at a later point (maybe when you were 5? or 6? and your mother or those present at your birth do not remember discussing) in which you remember the details from the discussion but not the actual discussion itself into which just the details of a heard discussion stayed in your brain and processed a memory from birth.. This is scientifically possible. There are many ways in which memory and memory details can become convoluted through vagueness and brain processes we are quite unaware of at the time, and at any time of course. The developing brain cannot process and make coherence out of many events for some time. The developing brain, especially neonates and babies, has an exceptional ability to sort safe from unsafe and relies on inherent reflexes to get needs met.

Disclaimer: This is scientific, not opinion.

There is a lot to be said about memories, obviously - therapy is a good place to talk about memories. But, a qualified therapist should have a working knowledge of brain development and I would stop seeing a therapist (not that yours or anyone elses') who thought it was possible to have coherent memories, especially anything visual, of birth. Be very wary.

I never had memories of birth, but i have had what i can only describe as infant memories.

They aren't memories that I can 'see' in my mind like other memories, but they still are memories. Since babies have perception, they in fact, have memories. But it's not cognitive memories; they are remembered in the body. If you read about memories from the trauma researchers, they are often referred to as pre-verbal memories.

Ive had many of these. At first it was very confusing, but if you think about it, babies can't talk and aren't cognitively developed, so memories can't be described in words. They are remembered as experiences and they sure can be felt.

When i first started having these, as confused as i was, i realized I had an infant memory because of the way my eyes moved around the room. I later realized that only newborn babies' eyes move like that. And i was dissociated from my cognition.

[velcro003]

Originally Posted by SoConfused623

Memories of my birth??? I don't really even have memories of my childhood. I think that I have the worst memory ever and honestly, my childhood was not that bad for me to have stuffed all of those memories. I have to ask my siblings when I want to recall childhood stuff!

This is me completely!

[atisketatasket]

It's called infantile amnesia - the brain is not developed enough to store long term memory of events that young. It is indeed not considered possible. And you can never exclude the possibility that the one remembering is actually remembering what someone else told them about their birth or infancy - which would be why third-party accounts agree with the memory.

I think there is a school of thought that there can be somatic memories from a very young age, as another poster said. If a baby is left alone at night to cry, that can become a very strong somatic memory. And maybe a difficult labor could become a somatic memory as well. Is that what you're experiencing, OP?

[Ididitmyway]

When I talk of birth "memories" I am actually referring to the sensory "memories" of the body, not to the conscious memories of the brain at the time when the brain development makes it possible to store memories.

Of course, an infant can't form conscious memories because the brain at that point doesn't allow him to consciously comprehend the surroundings. When people have "birth memories" it has to do with their bodily reactions to something traumatic that happened at birth. For example, the umbilical cord could've wrapped around the infant's neck and he/she experienced a few moments of suffocation before it was unwrapped. The brain doesn't consciously understand what's happened but the body "understands" it as a threat to its survival and, naturally, reacts with the feeling of terror and compulsive bodily movements. This "memory" of terror, suffocation may remain in the body throughout the person's entire life, and, occasionally, from time to time, he or she may start suffocating for no reason and get terrified when it happens. They may also have nightmares about suffocation. If one day they talk to their mother and she tells them what happened during their birth, they'd be able to manage those attacks of terror better, and the attacks may subside or disappear all together. That's the value of "remembering" such things.

All in all, this is a rare occurrence in therapy. People could barely sort out huge piles of **** that's on their plate in the present let alone the birth experiences.

Sorry, but I still have actual memories of my birth. I was there, I remember it quite well, as well as several months after birth that I mentioned later (maybe age 10) that were confirmed, that hadn't been talked about before.i told my parents things I couldn't have known. Things no one could have even known in order to talk about with me.
So appantly it is possible.
I don't care if anyone really believes me or not. My parents do. It is impossible for me to have known the things I told them.

[Ididitmyway]

Originally Posted by Starry_Night

Sorry, but I still have actual memories of my birth. I was there, I remember it quite well, as well as several months after birth that I mentioned later (maybe age 10) that were confirmed, that hadn't been talked about before.i told my parents things I couldn't have known. Things no one could have even known in order to talk about with me.
So appantly it is possible.
I don't care if anyone really believes me or not. My parents do. It is impossible for me to have known the things I told them.

I believe you because I believe that our brain science is in its infancy and there is much more that we don't know about how our brain functions than what we already know. The data the neuroscience has collected so far is interpreted out of context I think because we still don't have enough information to see the bigger picture What I stated came from what I've read on the subject so far and have heard from others. But I have no doubt that that's not all there is for us to know. As science develops further, it's quite possible we might be able to explain the birth memories and may be even before the birth like memories of being in the womb. There is so much amazing phenomenons of human mind that science in its current state is unable to explain that it'd be ignorant of me to assert what is and isn't possible. So, I just state what I know so far but I keep my mind open for other possibilities.

In fact, I just remembered that my son surprised me once when he told me that he had memories from back when he was 3 months old. He described our apartment and his crib from that time very accurately. I know I had never talked to him about it just because it wasn't something significant for me to even remember so he couldn't know it from me, and I also know that we moved out of there when he was 5 months old so it wasn't the same apartment he could see later on when he got older. I thought it was pretty amazing..so go figure..

I fantasized about it. But actual memories? No. That would be me buying into a fantasy.

[divine1966]

Originally Posted by sub-dural

It is quite scientifically impossible to have memory of your birth.

The only part of your brain developed enough to do anything is your primal brain - hippocampus, amygdala, and hypothalamus.

You may have an emotional memory stored in your primal brain, a physical one - but not a coherent memory in terms of how an adolescent --> adult has a coherent long-term memory. The part of your brain for processing memories is not developed, yet, putting first memories much later (1-3, sometimes 4 or 5 years old) (in a normal developing brain). That is when your brain can actual process all external stimuli, make sense of it, and keep it.

I am not implying a memory or even of yours is inaccurate. But an actual coherent long-term memory is impossible. Maybe your birth was discussed at a later point (maybe when you were 5? or 6? and your mother or those present at your birth do not remember discussing) in which you remember the details from the discussion but not the actual discussion itself into which just the details of a heard discussion stayed in your brain and processed a memory from birth.. This is scientifically possible. There are many ways in which memory and memory details can become convoluted through vagueness and brain processes we are quite unaware of at the time, and at any time of course. The developing brain cannot process and make coherence out of many events for some time. The developing brain, especially neonates and babies, has an exceptional ability to sort safe from unsafe and relies on inherent reflexes to get needs met.

Disclaimer: This is scientific, not opinion.

There is a lot to be said about memories, obviously - therapy is a good place to talk about memories. But, a qualified therapist should have a working knowledge of brain development and I would stop seeing a therapist (not that yours or anyone elses') who thought it was possible to have coherent memories, especially anything visual, of birth. Be very wary.

Yup. Amen to this

[precaryous]

I remember a bad dream I had as a very small child-
(sd, don't read this)

I dreamed I fell or was placed upside down, immobilized, with just my head in a hole in the ground..with me screaming and crying.

Have wondered if that was me having a nightmare about going through the birth canal.

[velcro003]

Originally Posted by precaryous

I remember a bad dream I had as a very small child-
(sd, don't read this)

I dreamed I fell or was placed upside down, immobilized, with just my head in a hole in the ground..with me screaming and crying.

Have wondered if that was me having a nightmare about going through the birth canal.

Nice warning for SD

[amandalouise]

memories of my birth , false memories yes, actual memories no. during my childhood I heard the story of my birth and what went on with me and in life in general during my first year of life. thanks to the telling of all this information during my childhood my brain conjured up false memories where for a long time I actually believed i witnessed these events, emotions, behaviors... but when i actually tracked down people, places, medical reports and such it turned out what I thought was my memories of my birth was actually other peoples ....opinions and conversations.... of my birth and happenings. some were so grossly exaggerated that the facts, emotions, actions did not fit with what really happened. brain scans showed my newborn brain did not have the amount of neuropathways established to ensure long term or short term memory. the way the human brain works is as a person experiences events and emotions their brain forms neuropathways. as a newborn the extent of my existance was basic biological eat, bathroom and sleep, therefore thats all the neuro pathways I had.

my suggestion would be to contact the hospital of birth. they will have accurate records of a persons birth and what went on during those first few days. then you can match those with your memory and other peoples accounts. this will tell you what is actual birth capabilities for birth memories ad what is a persons brain conjuring false memories based on hearing family and friends retelling of the birth and subsequent few days after birth. doing this really helped me in establishing the difference and what I actually was remembering of my birth.

[sub-dural]

Originally Posted by precaryous

I remember a bad dream I had as a very small child-
(sd, don't read this)

I dreamed I fell or was placed upside down, immobilized, with just my head in a hole in the ground..with me screaming and crying.

Have wondered if that was me having a nightmare about going through the birth canal.

It could be a memory of a dream of a memory of a dream.. Just kidding.. well it could be.

But I'm not here to doubt peoples' memories.. It's more like piecemeal. If you were a child having this dream, your brain is developed enough to do logical thinking about things not present. So, in all reality you probably did have a nightmare about going through the birth canal.. A child can, under the right influence and stimuli, imagine what it may like to be born. A physical memory of confinement may be stored in the neonate's primal brain.. and an overwhelming anxiety over a void? nothingness? lack of safety? may have produced a nightmare about going through the birth canal. It sounds terrifying.

Overall, the things we conceive as long-term memories is not an actual function in a neonate. We have an infinite amount of influences to our stimuli, abstract ideas, etc. that our brain processes and puts together in ways we can understand logically all through-out the span of the developing brain (the myelinating and demyelinating pruning goes well into our 20s).

And I agree with whoever said it's not possible at this moment in science to understand everything, but what we do have scientifically is we are born with a developed primal brain and the functions of that primal brain. From there, what our developing brains do with those primal memories and how it processes it (such as body memories, etc.) has all the validity in the world.