Arriving in the World too Soon (PDF)

Our Research Approach How can one approach the experience of premature babies? The idea of observing premature babies directly after their birth in the clinic first arose several years ago and was realised thanks to the generosity of staff at a Berlin centre for neonatology. The research approach is based on the method of participative infant observation, as it was introduced into the training programme for child psychologists by Esther Bick in 1948 in the Tavistock Clinic in London and further developed by Martha Harris and Donald Meltzer. The method is in the meantime employed world-wide, naturally including Germany. Meltzer (1967) assumed that all experiences accumulate and develop within the individual, that they are therefore processed, and that these processed experiences determine present behaviour. One form of access to the processes involved in the construction of the psyche (Lazar 1986), is possible through infant observation. Normally, a baby is observed in its natural surroundings from birth until the end of its second year once a week for one hour focusing on the question: How does this child feel within this family? One is usually observing the mother-child relationship but the main focus is on the child. The younger it is the more difficult the observation because the affects it displays are incredibly moving. The observer does not intervene in the situation in any way, but is merely present. Each observation is recorded in a memorandum and regularly discussed among a group of other observers. The group becomes a thinking receptacle for the observer, and makes it possible to sense non-comprehension and non-awareness and use this creatively. Theoretical reflections may enter into proceedings, but the focal point remains the individual inner world of the baby being observed. This discussion is also recorded in written form, and once the observation period has come to an end, a summarising report is compiled. This is chiefly concerned with how the baby

Table of Contents Foreword and Acknowledgements Introductory Note Our Research Approach Everyday Life in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Premature Baby Observation - Setting the Scene Arriving in the World to soon The "Other" - How the Premature Baby Seeks Encounter When a Thrid Develops Alone in the Incubator - Seeing and Feeling Coming Together - The Development of Bonds Observations Isolated Scenes Showing Resistance Rejection and Small-for-Date Birth Giving the Baby a Name Bonding Shock Establishing a Secure Bond Janosch (2003) One Week Later 14 Days Later Commentary The Other as Container (Establishing Inner Links) Catastrophic State Defence Mechanisms The Importance of Mentalisation Gitte (2003) Absence of Linking and Emotional Isolation One Week Later Another Week Later Klaus-Heiner (2005/2006) Mortal Danger and Splitting From the Observation Log In the Group Discussion Support for Parents Establish a Loan-Container for the Parents Immediate Aid to Alleviate the State of Shock Absorbing Guilt and Fear Securing the External Framework for Parent-Child Encounter Support for Staff Observing - Feeling - Finding Words Translating Somatic Reactions into Signs of Mental-Emotional Distress Creating a Space for Fears Care Means Human Contact Glossary Bibliography

"Das Buch hat mich mehr berührt als erwartet. Es wäre wünschenswert, wenn es bei allen, die in diesem Bereich tätig sind, verbreitet und angenommen wird. ... Sehr empfehlenswert!" (Hebammeninfo 5/2010)