A film

A film
Thursday August 14, 2008

Dear Dr. Miller: I find your work to be of great importance to our society. I have worked with abused and neglected children for most of my adult life, and as a child. I do prenatal and birth trauma healing work and really learned of your work only in the last decade. I am currently working on a documentary about the consciousness of the human baby at birth and my intention is to shed light on the abuse of babies in the first moments and hours of life. The abuse is by strangers, medical people who are doing routine, sometimes necessary, but usually not, interventions on a newborn. I do birth videography … and, I am a “silent witness” for the baby. I no longer function as a “doula” — I witness what is. Many hospitals no longer allow cameras … to protect physicians and nurses from law suit. I believe that what is happening is a human rights violations of our newborn babies. My own birth was brutal .. cord wrap, broken clavicle, forceps, etc. I was not abused by my parents and I had wonderful witnesses in my grandparents; however, I repeatedly brought violent men into my life. Each one was more violent. My last husband was brutal – while I worked at the state level in AZ and in NY on behalf of children in the system. Such irony, such divinity. It led me to CranioSacral work, then the field of pre and perinatal psychology and then to the Castellino healing work. My son’s first birth was brutal — 25 years later I began to heal it. I was like a rape. MY mission is to bring this to awareness and to the Light …. your work is very important part of it. I am wondering if you might be available for an interview. I am currently in Missouri but will heading to AZ and CA anytime between now and October. I can come to you, within the US. I am working on a trailer and hope to have it up soon. The focus is on keeping the cord intact until the placenta delivers and when the MOTHER knows that she and her baby are ready to make this next HUGE step in the transition. It is fathers/partners who can protect this. I have an MD who has given me key info about how to handle hospital staff. A key aspect of my film is looking at the disempowerment of men from birth violation and circumcsion — these are the FIRST experiences of life that brutalize the baby and will get acted out later. I could go on and on …. but, I’ll wait to hear back from you…. Thank you so much. With great regard,

Norman: There is no doubt that our first encounter with other human beings – in the first few minutes, hours, and days after we are born – is important, even crucial. If we are treated like objects, hit “to make us cry”, separated our mother etc., as happens in many hospitals, this is abusive and traumatic. But the ability of babies to recover from this one trauma – which is mainly caused by strangers – is dependent upon their PARENTS. Children spend many YEARS of their lives with their parents, and even with the most gentle birth procedures many of these parents will abuse their children THOUSANDS of times, in so many different ways.