Haste Trust 1t may seem that symbiotic lite is too short to provide such a
big change in perception but if we consider the embryonic period
. Symbiotic life is very short, lasting only 6-8 weeks, but its
rmportance must be stressed, particularly in relation to psycho-
logicalfactors. It is always much easier to see what happens at the
physical level. We can put the child on scales and see that it has
gaine!l weight or we can measure its height; but what happens to
the psychological factors?
It is during symbiotic life that the newborn must pass from a
biological to a psychological birth. While the former is, of course,
the moment in which the child leaves the womb, the latter
corresponds to the moment in which the child achieves a basic
body-mind integration and acquires a fundamental knowledge
about the new environment.
The cutting ofthe umbilical cord is sufficient only for biological
birth. Psychological birth follows the time of external pregnancy
which consists of the mother's arms, the points of reference, food
when needed and the reassurance that there will always be a
response from the mother when requested. As we said previously,
these positive experiences during the sensitive period of attach-
ment produce in the children's mind the idea of the environment
as a place in which they feel safe. The external world will forever
be a place that they can trust because it has been tested and found
reliable. The child will not be afraid to confront new situations and
make further efforts. In particular, he will not fear being detached
from the mother, but will feel secure, for short periods of time
about staying away from her. 'i'he child should know by now,
throngh the activities of holding and handling, the limits of his
body and this helps him feel secure in the outside world. A
separation between the self and non-self begins, which makes it
possible to act in the environment and to continue to receive rich
multisensory stimulation.
Basic trusl;in the environment is the first pillar of the psycho-
logical ego and already must be present by the first two months of
life. With this trust, life takes on a rosy hue and the child becomes
I what we usually call an optimistic person. No matter what
happens in his life, he will continue to strive for positive solutions
to any difficult situation. Tbe world around him will be perceived
as being a good place and life worthwhile and joyful. It is easy to
appreciate the importance of such an achievement for future life!
-44.
of pregnancy we know that, during the same amount of time, all
the parts of the child's body are produced.
Human development is fast and, for this reason, it is difficult
to cope with the continuous changes of the growing child. After
only two months the child is completely different from the new-
born that emerged at birth and a new approach is needed. The
same mother who has been the fundamental person during
symbiosis, the person for a preferential relationship now is no
longer needed in the same way. Thanks to her love and care, the
child has passed happily through the transitiohal period following
birth. The mother will remain important but in a different way.
The symbiotic phase is over and the two partners must find a
different way ofliving together. Their relationship has progressed
and now provides more freedom for both of them.
Developing the right type of attachment during the symbiotic
period paves the way for a natural detachment and the psychologi-
cal birth happens. Only when a need is completely fulfilled is it
overcome. It is wonderful to see how simply nature pute together
biological and psychological needs which support each other for
thewholedevelopmentofthehumanbeing.AIIparentsandadults
should understand this in order to give children, from birth
onwards, appropriate help. We can give children invaluable gifts
that will remain with them forever and deeply change the quality
of their lives.
Basic trust is fundamental and can be secured within a short
time. When symbiosis is over, this trust must be there!
Tbe process we refer to as separation needs to be considered in
a positive light, that is, as a series of successive entrances into ever
more encompassing external realities. We need to think of each
level of separation as a gate to progressively richer and multidi-
mensional reality. To successfully accomplish this passage through
these successive gates the person must be prepared to deal with
the next level of options. If not only the negative aspects of
transition prevail. If adaptation to a new condition is made
painful, the previous condition will seem preferable and the
human being may decide not to continue his development.
No human being can develop alone. The child needs a
human mediator to assist in his journey to an environment
 Especially in the first days after birth, we must have time and
patience while breast-feeding, remembering that newborns are
not trained to do much work with their muscles. We need to be
peaceful and unhurried with them. We are giving and receiving a
loving relationship, not filling a stomach! We are satisfYing all the
needs of the new human being, the most important of which, for
the future, are the psychological needs.
If we consider feeding time as an occasion for having the
pleasure of staying with a person we love, it will be easy to let the
child eat only when this pleasure is available. He must have the
freedom to attach voluntarily, suckle leisurely and detach only
when he is satisfied.
The Wisdom of Life
We now know that the first weeks after birth are a crucial
period in which many important things happen. It is very prob-
able that there may even be more important events that have not
yet been discovered but it is clear that .the small size of the
newborn, his helplessness, the need for special food, are all very
positive in favoring a human relationship and will allow the child
to continue to grow physically and psychologically.
In order to receive milk and sufficient care the child must be
"attached" many times a day to the mother. It is this repeated
experience of separation and attachment that gives the child the
possibility of discovering the advantages of a new life while
continuously beil}g reassured that some of the important points of
reference from tlfe past are still present.
I,ooking carefully at all this, we can discover life's very wise
plan to help the child to progress easily in development, without
a real break and without trauma.
Let us particularly consider the child's coordinated move-
ment and how this.actlvity changes after birth. Even though
the fetus moves the different parts ofits body regularly, it is
never able to stretch its body completely. This condition is
certainly normal in prenatal life but it must change after
birth. Observing newborns, we can clearly see how they like to
have some space for movement. Any time they are undressed
they enjoy the opportunity to move their legs, and the plea-
sure they receive from this is clearly evident.
When we give a child a wider space for movement, rather than
a small crib or pram, h<:~ is able, slowly but successfully, to rotate
in the space provided. He is also able to change his position until
he reaches the edge of the space. This activity is carried out with
great concentration and the child is very attentive to the sensa-
tions coming from the relationship between his body and the
surface on which he moves. Much information-gathering is cer-
tainly involved in this activity, and the child starts to acquire a
knowledge of his existence in an external space so different from
the previous one.
'The feeling of being free in this wider spacE> gained after birth
becomes a source of pleasure, interest and appreciation. It is
wonderful for the child to find the mother's arms any time he
needs comfort, but it is equally wonderful for him to experiment
with the freedom ofmoving the body into many different positions.
It is clear that the alternation of attachment and separation
are two important facets of the child's development and that both
contribute in a natural way, to his progress towards indepen-
dence. With great wisdom, life offers opportunities to progress
along the road of human growth, which is a process of daily
discovery of our power of action in the enviromnent.
However, from the very beginning, children are kept from
these valuable experiences and their natural progress is impeded.
While life programs the steps of development carefully, adults
seem to do everything to retard it.
AsAdeleCosta Gnocchi (Maria Montessori's friend who started
the Assistants to Infancy Training Program in Rome in 1947)
expressed once to the author "In the world there is an organized
effort to stop the young child's development".
This sad situation can be changed simply by knowing the child
better and by becoming more aware of the developmental wonders
present in all living beings. Then we will want to serve life and
consciously help it from the moment of birth.
 v~H<::.u...,.tt~ Huvunaut.I~ LUe ainounl{or rm1K tnecniHl takes ct.unng
a twenty-four hour day. We soon realize that there is a difference
in the nu.mber of feedings taken by different newborns to reach
this quantity. This nun1ber is usually lower than the one imposed
by an externaj: routine. In 1972, the author participated in re-
search about sleep and feeding habits during the first weeks oflife.
'rhis research, which has been con11rmed by later observations,
shows clearly that a newborn tends to feed 5 or 6 times a day, have
the last feeding around 7-8 P.M. and sleep until2-3 A.M. At this
time, admittedly inconvenient for us, the infant wakes up and
wants to eat. There is no way to calm the child unless it is fed. If
feeding is done while keeping the levels of light and stimulation
low, he will go back to sleep until the next morning.
. At around 6-8 weeks oflife, the end of the symbiotic period,
th1s pattern changes and the child starts on our solar pattern.
One morning, we find that the child has slept continuously
through the night and, from that time on, will continue to take
a long nightly break between feedings, to the great benefit of the
whole family. It is a mechanism of autoregulation which always
functions if we respect the natural rhythm of the newborn. It is
important for the parents to know about this transitional period
and understand what is going on with their child. The newborn
simply does not have any experience of night and day and takes
a certain time to enter this solar routine. 1'he child must
experience this difference for a certain amount oftime before the
problem is naturally corrected.
The reassurance of the mother's presence and food will help to
avoid developing an association of anguish and discomfort at
night, which can bring difficulties in sleeping. To accept this
inconvenience, which lasts only 6-8 weeks, is the best way to help
the newborn easily enterinto our life routine. Ifwe fight the child's
effort for orientation in the new environment we may create long
term disturbances of the night-day rhythm. 1'his will be heavily
paid for by the child's parents.
As we have said, a golden rule of breast-feeding that is rarely
followed, is to ensure that the child detaches himself from the
breast. This not only allows him to derive the full pleasure from
breast-feeding but produces the important feeling of controlling
such a basic necessity of life. It is really terrible to witness the
breast being withdrawn before the child is ready to release it. The
child is left feeling that an enormous force is overwhelming his
·40-
Clesrre to contmue to sucKle. Untortunately mothers are often
instructed by nurses and pediatricians to attach the child for a few
minutes at each breast. This advice is wrong from the biological
point of view, because the milk that comes from the breast at the
beginning of the feeding is not the same quality as the milk
expressed later. At the beginning it is more watery, with mineral
salts and proteins; later on it is thicker and much more fatty. To
have well-mixed milk we must allow the clJild to really empty the
breast. In this way another important goal is reached: the pitu-
itary gland receives the signal that the breast is empty and must
be refilled. Attaching only a few minutes at each breast is also
wrong psychologically because the last pa'rt of breast-feeding
provides the greatest pleasure shared with the mother. The
quantity of milk necessary to satisfY the biological hunger is
obtained in the first minutes when the child suckles with great
strength and almost without stopping. It is more in the later part
of the meal that the enjoyment of the mother's presence and the
food is felt. The child is now relaxed, suckles slowly and looks more
attsntively at the mother while before his eyes were closed and he
was concentrating mainly on the muscular effort. This part of the
meal is like the time we continue to stay at the dinner table with
dear friends and talk happily while eating things that are not
needed for survival (coffee, dessert, spirits) just to continue to
receive pleasure for the heart. To take away this part of the meal
is to miss completely its social meaning because food is the
occasion for social interaction and human company.
When we limit the child's feeding time we prevent him from
reaching complete satisfaction.
It is so lovely to see a newborn who had time to reach such a
privileged state. The child detaches from the breast and smiles.
'I'he body shows the complete relaxation that comes from total
happiness. Each child reaches this point at a different time,
when all the muscular work for suckling has been done. It is
impossible to judge this from outside because even the same
mother will have different experiences with each child. Each of
them is a unique individual and will react differently. We must
be careful to extract all the good that can come from breast-
feeding, since, even though we are providing a food that is the
best for growth, our child may not obtain the happiness of the
human relationship and the experience of a life that can give so
much pleasure many times every day! ' >
'
. 41.

r
. breast and her face. It is the experience of a great happiness and
complete satisfaction when all biological and psychological needs
are met. This relationship indicates how nice life can be and
teaches to look for the joy of the relationship with hnman beings.
In order to achieve this experience each child should remain
attached to the mother's breast for as long as he needs. In addition
to receiving a special food for development, all possible personal
gratification and social interaction are allowed.
; /
The amount of time required will vary among newborns and
will depend on their personal development in the womb, their
weight and muscular capacity, the size and shape of the nipple,
I o
and the quantity of milk produced by the mother. Each child must
remain attached to the breast until he opens his mouth to release
the nipple and visibly relaxes his body. The muscular effort is
fini~hed and complete satisfaction has been reached.
At this point, it is clear that we not only need a better
understanding ofthe importance of the mother's milk, but also a
different technique of timing breast-feeding. We call this tech-
nique a "free timetable".
Freedom, however, does not mean that food is given at any
time. We should not think that any time a newborn is awake he
needs to eat and go back to sleep. We still find in some pediatric
books that a newborn sleeps for 20-21 hours. But this is not the
case even in prenatal life, how could it be true after birth? We
should never forget that a newborn is a very intelligent being, with
billions of brain cells! The child has the drive to create a relation-
ship with the mother (and other human beings) and discover his
new environment.
Many newbiirns cry because of the sensory deprivation they
experience from well-meaningefforts to.protect them from stimu-
lation. They are simply bored and trying to attract our attention,
asking us to pick them up, talk to and be with them. But we are
convinced that they only want to have something in their mouths
l ; and, if it is not yet meal time, we give them a pacifier. While the
child is asking for a human relationship and knowledge, we teach
it that the only possible satisfaction they can receive is oral. The
new environment has nothing else to offer but food or a rubber
pacifier to suckle.
Are we aware that we are repressing and perverting their
.,.....,f.u.,.,.n1 ..1-:.,.~,.,... f-n ..1.-.......J..,.,... <">
r
If we really observe a newborn and avoid the prejudice that it
is only interested in eating and sleeping, we will see it making the
effort to move with every part ofits body and to observe all that is
going on around it. We \'lill notice how attentively it listens to the
human voice and to any other sounds in the environment. We will
discover that milk is only appreciated when it is really needed.
Children want and enjoy many other things that we can give them
at no expense: our presence, music and anything that is interest-
ing to watch. Then, when the time to eat arrives, the child will
enjoy nursing and will be ready to absorb, along with food, another
opportunity for a human relationship.
J<'ood is certainly a basic and pleasurable component oflife, but
it must never become the most important source of stimulation
and satisfaction offered by the human environment. When we
respond to every request of a newborn by stuffing something into
its mouth we are, maybe without realizing it, starting a very
dangerous pattern ofrelationship with the environment. Food can
lose its potential as an important occasion for social life and
becomes iru;tead a source of gratification in itself, not related to
"someone" but to ''something".
Clearly then, the nursing mother should be comfortably seated
in a quiet place and feed the child while looking at it. Although it
is technically possible to offer the breast and read a book, talk to
someone or watch television, we must realize that, in this way, we
detach psychological nourishment from biological feeding. As
Erich Fromm puts it: "We only give the milk but not the honey".
A "free schedule" implies that the interval's between meals are
not established from outside but that we observe the child and
wait for the child to be ready for the food. Since human milk needs
around two and halfhours to be digested, the breast should not be
offered before that minimum interval has elapsed. Any longer
interval sllould be accepted if the child is asleep or does not look
interested in feeding. In any case milk production varies accord-
ingto the time of day. There is more milk in the morning. The level
then goes down in the early afternoon and rises again in the
evening. Every woman who breast-feeds knows that her breasts
are much heavier in the morning than later during the day. And
why should we pretend that the child always needs the same
amount at the same intervals? Sometimes a complete meal is
'>"~nh nnn~<'\1 n'\">...1 ..,.......,,...+n11~.f,.,? ............. ;J ..... .:J ,.....,..;1 .................... "".; ....... ...,,... ........ 1~'7,... ,..,..,.,.,..,...1,.. ;,... nnm..-.;"'""fl

Figure 7. Breti.:t-fe~d!ne is food for the beginning of
a human relattonshlp: the foundation. of socialli(e.
be~omes an opportunity for the beginning of a human relation-
ship; the foundation of any future social life. (See Figure 7).
Too often Lhe separation of the mother from the child im di-
ately after birth disrupts the sequence of actions necessary r:~he
development of their bonding and attachment. The newborn
ne?ds to f"?l tha~ the mother's arms are the reassuring container
of Its new hfe while the mother needs the newborn in her arms to
compensate for the sudden loss of what was in her abdomen.
Although It grew ~adually for months, it went away very quickly
at the moment ofb1rth. Her feeling of emptiness is both physical
and psychological and the most natural way to overcome it is to
stay close to the child. 'J'?is gives an important feeling of security
to both mother and child. This security can only be conveyed
thro?gh true p~o::timity. E;en when there is a need for special
medi.cal care, this can certamly be provided without ignoring the
reqmrement to let the mo~her and child continue to stay together.
If we really grasp the significance of this relationship for the
future ofhuman development, technology can do the rest because
'
'36'
even m the most O.ltttCutt Sltuaw.m, \Nl\ can IJWtti:L "n" \Hl)~'""'
and psychological welfare of the mother and child.
lf we succeed in helping to establish good bonding at the
beginning, then everything in the life of these two people will be
different; no matter what happens, it will be "natural" for them to
have a relationship oflove, care and protection.
For this to happen, the mother and child must be allowed to
stay together so they can feel and enjoy theh own reciprocal
company. This is not possible if the child is brought to the mother
only at those times fixed by hospital routine. A three-hour rule
was somehow adopted by pediatricians and.;has become some-
thing that each newborn is obliged to obey, 'irrespective of the
volume of his stomach, his capacity for suckling, or the milk
production rate of the mother.
Since every child must eat at the same time, many of them are
usually still asleep when they are brought to the mother. The j
result is that they like the idea of continuing their sleep iri the
mother's arms but are not interested in the food so they are not ·
ready to make the effort needed to suckle the milk. Mter the
allotted time, usually not more than 20-30 minutes, the newborn
is brought back to the nursery and weighed, making it appear that
he has not taken enough milk. The low milk intake is not related
. '
to the fact that the meal time is wrong. Instead it is said to be due
to an insufficient production of milk by the mother, so it is decided
to give cow's milk from a bottle, up to the "proper" amount. 'fhis
is possible because the bottle releases the milk with no real
muscular effort. At the next meal this sequence is repeated with
the resnlt that the mother comes to believe that she is incapable
of producing enough milk and the child prefers the bottle. In
reality a routine of breast feeding was never allowed to start
because the newborn, who was supposed to give the sign of its
presence, never really suckled. The child was never attached at a
time when he was hungry and iriterested in the food and the
relationship. Sucking takes a certain amount of effort that the
child will not make ifhe is not awake and hungry. Only when these · .'
conditions are met will he attach himself to do the required
work joyfully.
This work gives much more than food. The child enjoys the
situation, the smell of the mother, the contact of her arms, the
warmth of her body, her heart beat which can be felt through the
. 37.
-
'
 tions of that decision and how important the correct use of
artificial milk is for the health of the child."
"The superfluous introduction of supplementary foods, and
even partial feeding with a bottle, should be avoided because of
their potentially negative effects on breast feeding."
What more could be said regarding the protection ofthe child's
biological welfare?
Food for Human Relationship
'l '
We have spoken about the wonderful mechanism oflactation
and how milk production is tailored exactly to the needs of the
child. What is fundamental in starting and maintaining lactation
is the presence of the child, in effect, saying to the mother's body
"I am here and I need my milk" through the somatic language of
suckling at the nipple. This is the physiological stimulation, the
signal for the pituitary gland to produce a special hormone called
prolactin which takes charge of the "milk factory". The quantity
provided depends on the breast being emptied so that the subse-
.~ quent milk produced will match the quantity the child requires;
the emptier the breast the more readily it is refilled.
Although the breasts are ready from the beginning of preg-
nancy, the physiological stimulation, that is, the nipple being
suckled by the child which is necessary for starting lactation, is
often not allow\'d to occur immediately after birth. The newborn
is not brought to the mother and is not given the opportunity to
'
i_;
' attach to the breast for suckling. The mother's body is pro-
grammed for this signal, but this is exactly what is usually missed
in our maternity hospitals.
Often hospital staff justifY the unnatural separation of the
mother and child by saying that they have to rest, but in fact the
only thing they both really need is to stay together. There is so
much for them to do but they need reciprocal signals to continue
to live happily through what we now know is a continuation of
pregnancy. They are expecting a contact which has been designed
to fulfill all the expectations of the mother and the child, and the
attachment to the breast is a simple way to achieve this.
Compared with other mammals, the human newborn lacks
the ability to move towa~d the breast, because its capacities f~r
coordinated movement are not sufficiently developed. For this
reason someone needs to he! p by putting the child near the
mothe~. But we should never put the breast in the child's mouth.
The child should merely be allowed to smell it and feel it with the
skin of its face.
The child should always attach actively to the breast, so as to
ensure the freedom of choosing when to eat. This is the fundamen-
tal characteristic ofthe relationship with food. It should always be
offered with love and placed in front of, but never inside, a person.
"Forced feeding" is resented at any age and experienced as
violence because the openings of our body are our borders to the
external world and we must always feel in control of them
otherwise we lose our sense of security.
Every newborn will take its own time to understand the new
situation to receive and process the different sensory stimula-
tions co~ing from the mother and become capable of recognizing
her in a different frame of reference and respond properly. Every
mother needs her own time to react to the visual presence of the
child which, during pregnancy, she could onlly imagine.
These sensory experiences provide a special knowledge, a
body-mind knowledge which puts a kind of seal on the relation-
ship of the child and his mother. They build a fundamental,
continuing relationship that feeds on the knowledge received
through the senses. This is an encompassing knowledge that
penetrates both the body and the mind an.d makes these two
people belong to each other in a special way.
This is food for the beginning of a human relationship, the
foundation of social life. In this encounter each mother-child pair
needs a different amount of time and we must protect this first
meeting. We must remember that because of the ~eed for mater-
nal milk newborns are provided with the most important and
valuable experience: to stay with another human being. The food
 o--·--~ -- --~ "•H ..... 1:"'1"'-'U.l-' p.tvUU'vJ.J.15 a Hdi.JUHH ..SLlUlU.taLlOll OI Lne
bile and pancreatic juices which are needed for the intestine to
digest ansJ absorb these nutrients.
Proteins are present in great quantity in colostrum, at a
level seven times greater than the normal amount. Antibodies
are attached to the proteins to provide U1e newborn with imme-
diate protection from the external environment. Even though
the newborn has collected many antibodies from the mother
during the last two months of pregnancy, they would not pro-
tect the child for long if he did not continue to receive a daily
supply through breast milk.
Of course, the first days oflife are very important because the
environment is new, and full of microbes. The newborn must be
given massive protection from the dangers of infection. The first
form of natural protection is not to separate the newborn from the
mother, but to give him what he is supposed to receive: colostrum.
Evolution always protects life. Each mother has antibodies to
counter the diseases prevalent in her surroundings; colostrum is
part ofthis defense system.
Within a few days the colostrum's proteins diminish, wlrile the
fats increase, until the human milk reaches a composition that
will remain stable during the rest of the breast-feeding period.
Another important function of colostrum is to stimulate the
digestive apparatus to move and pass meconium, the special
faeces ofthe newborn. Meconium is the accumulation of digestive
juices and cells from the intestinal walls.
All these factors point to the. importance of colostrum and of
attaching the child to the mother's breast as soon as possible
allowing the child to receive this precious liquid in the first days.
Even in case ofbirth by caesarian section, although the child will
be more sleepy after birth, due to the medication absorbed, it is
usually possible to put it to the breast after a few hours. Unfortu-
nately, the usual practice is to keep these infants in the nursery
and give them bottles of sugar water.
Colostrum provides many other benefits for the child. Consid-
ering the alternatives, we should note the danger of animal
I
I
proteins ifthese are given in the first days oflife. In this period,
the intestinal mucosa is more absorbent and this allows the
I animal proteins to pass through, producing allergies. Dr. J. Kelly
Smith, of the Manhasset University Hospital, New York, main-
tains that only a few days of colostrum can prevent many allerg~es
from occurring throughout the child's life. We should exp~am to
mothers that just a few days of colostrum can make a s1gmficant
difference in the child's health.
It is also important to remember that the protein taurine is
present only in human milk. Taurine has a special significance in
the development of the nervous system.
All these factors reflect on the importance of human milk at
the beginning oflife. In respecting nature's plan we discover the
secrets of health.
Consider the fact that newborns do not hrtve teeth. The teeth
are all ready, but they remain up in the gnms and d? not come
down before the fifth month so as not to interfere w1th breast-
feeding. Additionally, the facial bones are not we_H de_veloped
during pregnancy. The strong muscular effort req~nred m suck-
ling plays a part in enlarging them ~o t;11at there w1l~ be s~ace for _j
the teeth at the proper time. The childs active partic1pat10n and
personal effort are required in breast-feeding w bile the child can
take the milk from a bottle even when asleep.
This effort has both an immediate reward (the pleasure of the
food necessary for survival and growth) and produces long-term .'
'
effects. Much later when the permanent teeth start to come out
they will fmd enough space. Nature has considered and prepared
the human being's development although we seem, too frequently,
not to understand this carefully programmed sequence ofevents.
Which other food can offer so much protection and support
to development?
The World Health Organization, during its assembly in May
1981, decided that the following message should be printed on all
advertisements for artificial milk:
'"l'he World Health Organization recommends that pregn~nt
women and mothers of newborns be informed about the super10r-
ity and advantages of breast feeding." ' 1
"Mothers should receive advice on how to prepare themselves
to breast feed and how to continue to breast feed, on the impor-
tance of a good diet and should be informed about the difficulties ; l
of breast feeding when they start too late or when they want to
start again after an interruption. Before utilizing art~c~al m_ilk,
mothers should he informed of the social and financ1al 1mphca-
. 33.
 should prepare themselves for the arrival of the child, and they
should be particularly supported in the places where birth and
symbiotic life start.
Once again we must underline the importance of preparing
people for this task. Maria Montessori understood very well this
problem when she envisioned the role of"Assistants to Infancy" as
a mean for improving mental and physical health.
Our commitment must start where lifebegins.
Food for Biological Welfare
Before considering the functions of human milk in detail, it
should be noted that certain categories of animals, such as
mammals, develop specific organs just to produce special food
needed by their newborns at birth.
l .
This is important to remember because we are discussing
.- human development within the overall evolutionary scheme. In
tlris evolutionary scheme, everything that takes place does so in
response to an important need. Not merely a need that is impor-
tant at that moment, but one that facilitates progress through life.
In evolution, every new change is aimed at providing for a broader,
richer, more significant life. Life has progressed from its primitive
beginning to its present complex level and will continue to progress
to some level unknown to us in detail, but one that would certainly
represent an improvement.
In evolutioq, things change because there is a necessity to be
fulfilled and prilgress to be aclrieved.
\ '
Going back to mammals we can see that these living beings
need a special kind of food from the beginning. This comes only
from the mother. Since no adnlt food can be digested at this time,
all newborn mammals need to receive special food which will vary
from species to species. This time serves as a transition period
between pregnancy and the time when the child can receive the
usual food from the environment.
After birth there needs to be a period of time during which the
infant's digestive apparatus works but in a way different from
•• • • , • l • • ' ~ •
Newborns are not inferior beings because they are unable to
eat immediately the food of their environment but rather need a
special food in order to receive what is important for their
emotional development. This special food, the mother's milk,
despite being different in each species, corresponds exactly to the
newborn's nutritional needs.
·We will now consider human milk from the point of view ofits
biological benefits for the child. We will also compare it with cow's
milk because, unfortunately, this competes with human milk as
a food for newborns.
'fhe mechanism for preparing breast milk is a wonder in itself.
It starts with pregnancy and, at the end of the embryonic period
(the first three months), the factory is ready! While the placenta
is growing inside the uterus it sends out hormones that stop the
milk-producingwork of the breast. Only when the placenta is out
(signifying that the baby has been born) is tho~ breast able to start
milk production, receiving the message through the stimulation
of the child's sucking at breast. A few drops of milk may appear
during pregnancy, but the real milk-producing work needs the
collaboration of both mother and child.
Human milk does not have the same constitution from the
moment of birth. Nature considers the newborn in the first 4-5
days to be different from that of subsequent days, and offers
different milk to the newborn, called colostrum. It is a particular
food, specially designed for the very beginning of life.
This is apparent when we examine the percentage levels ofthe
main contents of colostrum:
Component Colostrum Normal Milk
(g/l) (gil)
Proteins 90 13
Fats 0 40
Carbohydrates 5-10 68
There are no fats in colostrum, which maltes the work of tl1e
 \,;ttapter 3
· dressing, changing, bathing and giving the child the care it needs.
THJ~ SYMBIOTIC LIFE OF
THE FIRST 6-8 WEEKS
The Significance and Advantages
of Symbiotic Life
. T~e first weeks after birth have a special significance for the
childs development aud are referred to as "symbiotic 1·r " Th
d b. · , 11e . e
;;or ~ym IOSIS means' a life together" and it describes the special
Situation of two living beings who need each other because each of
~hen:' glVe.s and receives something absolutely necessary for the
contmuat10n and the quality of each of their Jives.
In the case of the mother and her newborn, this symbiotic life
lasts 6-8 weeks and it is of great interest for us to see what these
two pa.rtners can exchange. The mother provides the right food
and With her presence establishes the points of reference for
attachment. The newborn, on the other hand, offers the mother
the re~ssurance that what has left her body is not lost, helps
establish a preferentia; relationship and, by suckling at the
breast, h~lps the mothers uterus to contract and shrink back to its
normal size and position. This diminishes the risks ofhemorrhage
and n~f~ct10n. Both par~ers can help each other to move beyond
the cntrcal moment ofb1rth and transform it into a continuation
of the relationship.
In symbio·tic life, there are three forms of contact (togeth-
erne~s) that are of special significance to the mother-child
relationship:
. 1. Holding. This simple act of the mother keeping the child
m her ,arms. can vary greatly. Everything depends on the
~others feelm~s towards the child. The body contact in hold-
mg tells the child about the mother's acceptance and attitude
and can provide great reassurance which will facilitate th~
passage to th(~ new environment.
-28-
~. Hand\mg. This rs the way m wnrcn we use our nan us wnen
All these actions require the mother's positive emotional involve-
ment. Wben the mother uses her hands for affectionate exchanges
with the child, they become an occasion for the child to gain
knowledge about himself and about the surrounding world.
3. Feeding. We shall consider here only the way in which
human milk is given to the newborn. Breast-feeding implies such
a special attachment that it is fair to say that the mother and child
once more become a single person, as they were during pregnancy.
Of course, this is possible only when the <;hild receives mater-
nal milk and can attach himself to the breast which becomes the
point of direct union with the mother. In this way a physical and _J
i
psychological unity is restored: the child will experience again,
many times a day, the joy of this complete union.
If all these experiences are positive by the end of the first 6-8
weeks we have a child markedly different from the newborn. He
is a human being in whom the necessary integration between body
and mind has already happened. This moment of psychological
birth does not coincide with biological birth because it needs more
direct human contact.
At the end of the symbiotic period, the child has acquired
fundamental knowledge of the new environment that will always
influence his vision of the world. If the vision is positive, the child
will have a "basic trust" in the world and will think ofit as a place
' i'
where his needs can be fulfilled.
A child can understand, through repeated, direct experiences
with a loving parent, that the external world responds promptly
to his needs for contact, stimulation and food. There is always an
answer to his call and he can trust the environment, as repre-
sented by the mother.
This basic trust produces optimistic individuals who will
perceive the world as a beautiful place and who believe, no
matter how difficult circumstances become, that external help
can be found.
The profound meaning of what happens during the 6-8 weeks . 1
after birth will continue to have effects throughout life. It is our
responsibility tc devote all possible attention and care to this
period, which is crucial for both mother and child. The parents
29.
 continue to move asitused to, but finds it impossible. All his motor
,- skills vanish. The notion that a newborn is incapable of moving is
:
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created and reinforced by ourselves. The bed 1md clothing we give
our infants certainly impede any motor activity. The fact that
even a premature baby can be found with his head against the side
Il : of his crib somehow fails to persuade us ofh:is ability to move.
5. The need to explore the new environment with all the
senses. A newborn is an active and alert human being and does not
need as much sleep as we imagine. This should not be difficult to
understand considering the sensory richness and sleep patterns
of the fetus in prenatal life.
Unfortunately for the majority of newborns, birth is usually
the start of a period of sensory deprivation which leads them to
being bored and unhappy and crying for attention.
Our response is usually to put something into their mouths,
because we imagine such a small human being could only be
asking for oral satisfaction! Not so; infants have a large brain and
i are very interested in listening to human voices and music. They
[; are delighted to be able to see flowers, trees, moving objects and
other things in the environment. But given a white ceiling, not
Figure 6. The newborn needs sufficient space for unhindered vision and movement.
enough light and their sight obstructed by the bed rails there is
nothing to satisfY this interest and desire for knowledge.
We can easily provide rich stimulation for newborns. There is
fed, c?ange~, weighed etc. These repetitive activities soon become no need for any expensive equipment but only for "prepared
m_eetmg po_mts that promote the development of a relationship persons" who understand what a newborn is and with intelligent
With a s?ecific person and an opportunity to become familiar with love, offer valuable experiences to children.
the environment. · Once again this is the significance of education as an
'' . 4. ~ufficient space for unhindered vision and movement. "aid to life".
(See Fig~re_ 6). ,Generally speaking the bed prepared for a
n newborn IS mappropriate because it is small and surrounded
L.
by rails_ or other materials which interfere with free vision of
the environm_ent. The newborn is very attentive and capable
r of concentr:"twn: He needs to be able to practice focusing the
eyes on obJects m the room without being disrupted by the
presence of bed rails.
. In pren~tallife, the fetus is always active using its body and
hmbs at ~II. The newborn is also capable of moving but the
movement IS very slow. Usually, the bed provided for the child is
too. small a~d we tend to dress newborns in unsuitable clothing
Whlch restncts their abilitv for mmrPmtmt 'l'hA ol,~l~ ,._, __ L.
~ --·
 --··- ----r"'"''"'"' ......., .......,
Vk ttuc; .u:cvvuu,tu tt~ a11utner mannestatlon
of life's wisdom in providing for the optimal development of
human J;>Otential.
Much research has shown that the extent and quality of
care the mother provides the child are strongly conditioned bv
the amount of time they spent together during the first day;
after birth.
The mother's feelings toward the child and her responses to
his needs are a consequence of the knowledge both of them gained
about themselves during this crucial period of sensitivity when
the preferential relationship was at work. This precious natural
aid which helps to ensure the best development of human beings
only lasts for a short time and then fades away. The small size of
a new?orn and its i~ability to take care of itselfinvoke our loving
attention. Along With the food and care they receive comes the
opportunity to develop their human potontial.
Basic Needs of the Newborn
After all that we have said about pregnancy so far, it
should be clear that the newborn is a well-structured human
being. The nervous system is well developed and functioning
and the newborn has already had many experiences which
remain in his memory.
Every pregnancy (even in the same mother) produces a new-
born that is very different from any other. This is a result of
yariations of heredity and maternal-fetal factors such as food
acceptance, environment, the support of a partner, etc. But ever;
newborn has the same basic needs that must be fulfilled in order
to assure healthy physical and psychological development.
In one of his books, Ashley Montagu lists the needs or drives
with which the child is born that quickly declare themselves. They
are: "The need for love, friendship, sensitivity, the need to think
soundly, know, learn, work, organize, curiosity, the sense of
wonder, playfulness. imagination, creativity, open-mindedness
flexibility, experimental-mindedness, explora tiveness, resiliency:
the sense of humor, joyfulness, laughter and tears, optimism,
honesty and trust, compassionate intelligence, dance and song." z
The author stresses that all these are reqmrea n tne cnuu IS LO
develop as a healthy human being.
We should remember that a newborn has wonderful self-
regulating mechanisms that work perfectly and a strong drive to
develop all the components of his human potential harmoniously.
Based on all the research done and on our own experiences
with small children, we can recognize the needs which should be
stressed in organizing the child's life after birth.
'£here are at least five immediate, basic needs of a newborn:
1. Direct contact with the mother, fo,r such important
reasons as: < '
a. To rediscover the points of reference of prenatal life.
b. To be known and accepted as a "son" or a "daughter"'and to
establish a preferential relationship with the mother. . '
c. To receive the special food she produces in this period.
d. To establish with the mother a form of communication that
will be the model for all later human communication. The new-
born already has many good tools at its disposal for this purpose;
tools that were prepared during prenatal life. These include: body
movement, smiling, sight and crying.
2. Respecting biological rhythms. The child must receive
milk when it is really hungry and must be able to sleep when
it needs to. The schedules at many maternity hospitals are
fixed and do not account for the unique time tables of each
newborn. They are all awakened and brought to their mothers
at the same time, a schedule that is established by people
outside the mother-child relationship.
This represents a violent interference in the child's capacity to
govern his sleeping rhythm and makes it much more difficult for
him to synchronize it in accordance with his internal needs. These
first experiences can sow the seeds oflater difficulties in adjusting
to the solar rhythm. Disturbed sleep can lead to negative reactions
in the home environment and a difficult relationship between the
child and his parents.
3. J'he order in which things are done. The child, needs to
establish a frame of reference for his new life and pass from one
environment to another without experiencing trauma. For
example, it is important to determine just where the child will be
25-
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can be found in the enormous size of the cerebral cortex. After nine
months, the fetus's head reaches the size of the mother's pelvis
and, for this vital reason, the child must come out.
-.
This may seem to be a disadvantage, although it becomes a
:
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precious occasion for a second gestation; this time with the
mother's arm as a container and with the mother's breast as a
placenta and umbilical cord. In addition to a very clear biological
necessity, there is also an important psychological reason for
exterogestation. The human newborn, while still being supported
by the mother, is capable of entering into and participating in a
wider and richer human environment. The child can thus receive
more stimulation and develop its human potential.
.- The child's large brain can begin .to absorb the external
environment more directly and continue its education literally, in
a more stimulating way.
Only humans are capable of walking on two feet and ar-
!' ticulating a language, These two characteristic abilities are
acquired only by experiencing them directly. If the child is
deprived of the chance to observe people walking and does not
hear language being spoken he or she will never get beyond
the motor skills of mammals and will never use the wonderful
mechanism that produces the human voice. Such a child would
be in the position of someone who has a beautiful piano but
never learns how to play it!
Thus, we should really consider the first nine months after
birth as an external pregnancy, a continuation and comple-
tion of the fir~t internal pregnancy. During this period the
mother continues to help her child, introducing it to the new
world and assisting it with the acquisition of the special skills
available to all human beings.
Life can only continue, both biologically and psychologi-
cally, if at least one adult is ready to "assist the life" in the
sense of protecting it and offering all that is necessary to
facilitate its growth.
As Maria Montessori taught an education from birth is a
necessary "aid to life".
The Significance of the Newborn's Helplessness
The fact that the human child needs to come out of the womb
before it has attained independence of movement has its biological
explanation in the enonnous and precocious growth of the brain.
This causes the child's head to reach a volume that necessitates
the exit at the ninth month of pregnancy. A longer stay would
make it impossible for the head to pass through the birth canal.
If we consider this phenomenon from the point of view of
human development, we find other interesting explanations in
tenns of psychological growth.
For a long period ofthe child's life, at least one adult will need
to provide food and protection against climate. The adult will also
have to care for and provide 'transportation in the environment for
the newborn, who is incapable for doing for himself.
After the child is born he can only ask for help by crying and
his needs can only be satisfied by a response from the external
environment. A baby's cry has a special resonance in the parents
mind. Generally it stimulates the desire to do all that is possible
to satisfY the child. The mother is especially attuned to this call
which is why she keeps going up to the child, picking him up in her
anns, talking to him and doing many other things. Because ofthis
need to help the child, much human contact and interaction is
provided immediately after birth. During the sensitive period of
motherhood a special sensitivity is present toward the newborn.
The physical care necessary for survival becomes the focus for
development of an important relationship and an acquisition of
mutual knowledge by the two participants. All the reciprocal
experiences of touching, smelling, hearing and seeing each other
are imprinted in their minds, transforming a woman into a
mother and a child into a son or daughter.
A preferential relationship starts and this special relationship
will help the child to continue to grow. He now has a mother who
will continue to offer love, food and sensory stimulation. When
these are available, the child will develop hannoniously because
his needs are satisfied. There is plenty to learn in the new
environment and it is only by living \vith human .beings that the
child can make the best of it.
 ---- --. .....
~-~ ........ ,....
"~ ~- ..... ..., p.._u ...
v.u.w:.~. t:;Iuw i:uty utvre ana tne
~.,a.uuvt.
quantity of blood it can supply is no longer sufficient to allow for
the further growth of the child. The child must look for a wider
space .where, given the possibility of more oxygen, all its sensory
expenence can enlarge and become more complete. Birth offers
this opportunity.
The child brings into this new environment only his or her
person and the memories of a different life. All that was so
essential within the womb becomes absolutely useless outside.
The plac~nt~, umbilical cord and amniotic fluid have no place and
no meamng rn the new situation, Their functions will be replaced
by organs prepared during pregnancy.
Birth is a great separation from all that was part of the
previous environment but, if we look carefully at the situation, we
can see that nature has planned birth in a way that facilitates the
transition and favors its positive aspects.
The ke_y to this is the mother; through her, a happy transition
c:;rn b~ achieved. In reality there is a "separation" only when the
btrth IS not asst:lted in the proper way.
Every mammal emerging from the womb immediately rrnds
its mother and is kept near her. Her warmth and body sounds are
the baby's first experiences of the new environment. The mother
also licks its skin. A baby will spend the first hours after birth
attached to her and it will only be much later that the mother will
leave her young to go and look for food.
The first impressions reassure a child ofthe mother's presence
and of the continuation of a preferential relationship with her.
With her help, the new environment will be explored and all the
new possibilities oflife will be discovered and appreciated.
Why is it not possible te preserve all this for the human
newborn?
Why is it that we forget about the need te provide a positive
start to life outside the womb?
How can we think that a human newborn needs less than any
other newborn mammal?
At birth, the relationship between mother and infant must be
prote.cted. Thi~ relationship is both biological and psychological
and IS essential to both of them. Only this relationship can
transform the separation of birth into a new attachment that
-20.
reproduces, a!be1t m a rutterent way, tne umty ot me tnat nas oeen
the basic characteristic of pregnancy. This attachm.ent is both
natural and easy to achieve ifmisguided external interference can
be avoided. The mother is eager to see, touch and hold the child in
her arms and the child wants to be touched, held and accepted by
its mother. In addition to their mutual desire to stay together, only
the mother has the appropriate food: the newborns of mammals
can only survive with maternal milk because it is the only food
they can digest completely in the first months oflife.
Life, in its perfection and wisdom, immediately transforms the
separation of birth into a new bonding relationship which has
many advantages for both the mother and her child.
The Concept of "Exterogestation"
The mother and child need to stay together and continue to live
together because, after nine months of pregnancy, the newborn is
not yet ready for an independent life. This human being is not yet
capable of eating adult food or of moving at will through space.
This is an unusual situation which needs some attention on the
part of adulta. A bettar understanding will help parents do the
right things with children from the very beginning. Again love and
knowledge can bring about the "normal" development of the
human being.
From the point of view of coordinated movement, the human
baby is still immature and it will take 8-9 months before it will
begin to crawl and be able to go any distance away from the
mother. At the same time, the child will reach the stage of being
able to eat and digest the food of the environment. In a certain
sense, at this point the child can survive, at least biologically,
without a mother.
: l
The time needed to reach this important point is identical to
the amount of time the child spent in the mother's body. For this
reason the nine months after the birth can be considered an
"external pregnancy" or exterogestation. . '
'
We can ask ourselves why the human fetus leaves the womb
before being completely ready for the external world. The answer
. 21·
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Figure 4. The newborn fourteen hours after birth,
The mother's voice is an important reference.
~ this person an "Assistant to Infancy". Anticipating by many years
' ' ' the change of attitude in today's maternity hospitals, this scien-
heart beat, the voice), (See Figure 4) others are fetal (hands
touching mouth and face, movements of the limbs and body).
(See Figure 5). Such memories are used to facilitate the passage
of the child into the new environment and can enable the child
to orient himself within it more easily. These points of reference
are the links between the period before birth (inside the mother)
and after birth (outside the mother). They specify that the same
life is continuing, although the situation has changed, and give
the child security, even though so many other things have
• "1"' '"1' o'l
Figure 5. When the 1Wwbom can touch his face with his hands,
he e:tperiences an important personal point of' reference.
It is extremely important with newborns immediately after
birth to respect, as much as possible, the •continuation of the
basic points of reference. Everyone present in the delivery
room or dealing with the newborn should be aware of these
special requirements. If we forget to take such important as-
pects of birth into consideration we may induce physical and
psychological pathologies.
Maria Montessori in her book The Absorbent Mind calls our
· attention to this problem and suggests that there should be
someone especially prepared to help in such a situation. She calls
tist wrote about the ''social importance" of providing this assis-
tance in order to avoid turning the natural passage ofbirth into a
damaging stage of life.
Separation and Attachment
Birth is certainly a wrenching, although ecbsolutely necessary,
separation from tha previous state ofbeing. There is a moment in
'11•1' •l 1'111 ··t· ~ ~,.1 ·~·,·
 '-'Dapter z
BIRTH:
SEPARATION AND ATTACHMENT
A Continuum of Experience:
a Different Place but the Same Person
In the previous chapter we saw that the moment of birth is
carefully prepared for, both physically and psychologically until
the child arrives at the end of pregnancy ready for the cha~ge in
environment. Every evolutionary change offers the possibility of
b~tter develop~enfG; in fact, life could not progress without change.
Btrth offers a w1der stage for experience and for a different, more
direct relationship with the mother.
It will help us to understand all that happens at birth if we
divide this special moment into two stages:
1. The physical changes in the bodies of the mother and child.
2. The psychological adjustments needed to help the physical
changes happen and to continue development.
In the mother's body, physical changes occur almost impercep-
tibly until the moment when contractions start. At this point,
there is an evident and repeated signal of the approaching birth
and it is impossible to ignore the situation any longer. It is exactly
at this moment that the mother realizes that an internal decision
has to be made as to what to do.
Some women are ready to send the child out and to collaborate
with the natural process of birth. The acceptance of separation
from the hnman being that grew slowly inside her produces an
attitude of helpfulness in the mother which is beneficial for both
her and the child. The desire and joy of performing such an
important task produces relaxed muscles that do not oppose
uterine contractions. This attitude allows the first part of labor
the dilation period, to be short and less painful and the child
16-
avolUs retru mstress \a snortagl:l 01 uxygl:ln m Lilt: uwuu1 WlLH 1u;
negative consequences.
Some women are unprepared for birth. They fear the process
and tend, more or less consciously, to oppose it with dramatic
effects on the body. The muscles become tense, especially in the
lower part of the uterus. Tbe process of dilation takes longer and
is more painful. The child is left alone in its efforts to emerge. More
medical help is often required because the mother does not
provide the right type of collaboration.
This disturbance in the mother-child relationship, both physi-
cally and psychologically can change the bilth process into a
trauma. The experiences ofthe child during the iong hours ofbirth
followed by separation from the mother will hinder what should
have been a smooth transition from pre-natal to post-natsllife.
The child is alone in its passage from the inside to the outside.
!fit also experiences physical suffering, the new environment will ~
I
be perceived as unwelcoming and this can deprive the child of a
healthy desire to go on in life and progress. It is not the difficulties
the child encounters in the birth-passage but the way the child
confronts them that is important. When supported by the mother
and helped by her, the new human being has all the strength
needed to perform good work; work that will open up a better
possibility for development later on.
The process of giving birth can be very rewarding for both
mother and child. At the end of the process, the mother finally
meets her child directly and is able to see, touch and talk to it,
while the newborn is able to feel the direct presence of the person
. I
it has known so well for a long time. The place is different but the
person is the same. The two partners are now together in a better ·~
way and can continue sharing all the important experiences oflife.
The Newborn's Points of Reference
The importance of a continuum of experiences for the child can
be better understood if we consider how many points of reference I I
the newborn has already established in prenatal life.
"Points of reference" are special memories related to hap-
penings during pregnancy. Some of them are maternal (the
-17.
 ~

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instead of images but we do not know enough about it to be
able to say for sure. In any case, it is really astonishing to
think of the prenatal child spending so much time looking at
his internal television!
the child and reminds herofthe reality ofbirth: the child is coming
and she must prepare herself to be ready to receive him.
6. The fetal sleep pattern becomes more similar to the mother's
solar rhythm, preparing the child to enter our time scale with its
division into day and night.

Preparation for Birth Considering all that goes on. in the last period of prenatal
life , we cannot but admire the intelligent work of the biological
and psychological ego of the child. We become aware of the
It is important to consider how carefully the moment of birth necessity of taking every possible care in order to offer the fetus
is prepared so that this crucial passage can occur in the best the opportunity to pass from internal to external life as part of a
possible way. The fetus displays all the characteristics of a very continuum of development. It is the child himself who prepares
attentive traveler who wishes to arrive at a new place equipped for the important change and he should find all. the other
with all that might be useful to life in the new environment. The persons around (mother, father, doctors, nurses, etc.) prepared
fetus shows a mysterious but accurate intelligence, both biolo1,>ical to meet his needs.
and psychological, which makes him able to evaluate "the date
and route" of his or her travel. We all must understand the richness and complexity of
fetal life, especially parents. With this knowledge and with
By the end of the seventh month of prenatal life, the child our love for the child, we can prepare ourselves for the impor-
attains a level of development that would allow for survival even tant moment of birth.
( ;
out of the mother's womb (without special technology) and it is
precisely at this point that the child starts" packing its bags". This
is demonstrated in the fo1lowi~.ways:
1. The child starts to accumulate antibodies from the mother
because it "knows" that there will be microbes and viruses outside.
2. A reserve of iron is prepared because the child knows that
milk will be his only food for many months and that the milk lacks
the iron needed for producing the red blood cells.
'.,
3. The child's head rotates downwards and becomes better
oriented towards the birth canal.
4. A good quantity of fat is deposited under the skin in
preparation for the shift from an environment where the tempera-
ture is constant to one where there may he significant differences
in temperature.
5. The fetal movements become stronger and more frequent
and the volume of the uterus grows very much during this last
period ofpregnancv. All of this focuses the mother's attention on
 • -~~--:~"""' .........,....._..,..., .l-''-'.l,W.t.t.uvu UlUlVE}lt.:(;tHY UJ
elnnmahon of carbon dioxide and other toxic substances which
allow the .child to develop in a suitable environment. During
pr~gnanc~ noth_m? can reach the child if not through the mother.
This relatiOnship IS one of the most important components in the
developmjlnt of the new human being.
All th~emotions, the ability to learn, and many different forms
of behavior are present in the fetus. Studying this period of nine
months helps us understand many things that manifest them-
selves much later after birth.
~e psyc~iatrist, Lester Sontag, spent more than 30 years
studymg the mfluence of prenatal life on lato1· behavior and has
made many o~servati~ns about the consequences of negative
maternal emotiOns. Children can be more irritable or overactive
and can have pl:oblems with eating and digestion. Today we are
v~ry wei! aware of the fact that maternal emotions change the
bwchem1stry of the body which can have short and long term
effects on the child. This area has recently received much atten-
tion from psychologists and as a result a new subdiscipline called
prenatal psychology has emerged.
The extensive development of the nervous system during
pregnancy explains the active life of the fetus and how the mind
receives and stores experiences. These experiences will influence
life after birth. ,.
Knowledge of Prenatal Psychology is important for
parents-to-be, who can help their child almost from conception
and can try to offer a better environment for his or her develop-
ment. '!'he educational roleofparenthoodstartsimmediately. Our
interaction with our child is significant from the first moment on:
the family and its members are already there, and can help each
other to better. the quality of life. Each pregnancy gives the
parents ~h~ opportunity to review their life-style and try to
Improve 1t m o:rder to help the new family member in the best
possi~le w_ay. '~e best thing to offer to children is a loving
relatwnship. Tlns never changes throughout life: human love is a
basic necessity!
-12.
LHe lllOtner Wlt0 t.he
Different l<'etatlStates of lJonsciousness
As human beings we experience at least two different states of '
'---
'
consciousness; "being asleep" and "being awake". In addition to
these states we all experience dreams. During dream periods our
eyes move very rapidly (Rapid Eye Movement or REM periods).
Almost 25% of our sleep is spent dreaming; a REM phase appears
every 90 minutes and lasts for 15-30 minutes.
The sleep and dream states are a vital necessity to living
beings; animals deprived of them will die. A.great deal of mental
work goes on during sleeping and dreaming ahd this can easily be
detected C,om the increase in the quantity of oxygen used by the
brain. All our daily experiences must be integrated and all our
personal "programs" must be reviewed on the basis of the new
information we have received during the day. The person who
wakes up in the morning is not the same person who went to sleep
the night before!
How do these different states of consciousness affect the
prenatal child?
Research done with a very S.J,lnsitive apparatus shows that
REM sleep starts at the end iif the seventh month of preg-
nancy (28-30 weeks). Around 32 weeks the fetus spends 70%
of its time in this state. At the end of pregnancy, REM sleep
takes up 50% of the time and the rest is spent on dreamless
sleep and in being awake.
Why does the child spend so much time dreaming? REM
sleep is the inte·rnal stimulation of the already completed
nervous system. In this state there is intense activity in the
eye muscles, heart and other organs and an elevation in blood . '
pressure. In addition, a form of rapid respiration appears
{without the ingestion of amniotic fluid) accompanied by move-
ments all in preparation for the type of respiration that will be
required immediately after birth. The child prepares himself
for the new phase of life which is to come and does not waste
precious time during pregnancy.
What is the child dreaming about? Fornari says that fetal
oneiric activity is the use of nervous energy to produce light
.'
- 13-
 Children's Experiences of Themselves
All the sensory richness that we have just described offers to
~e developing child much information about itself and helps it
~n the _construction of its "body map" . The body map is the
L !
Immediate experience of existence ofthe three-dimensional body
unity. The term refers not only to the shape of the body, but also
tells us about the relationship between its component parts. In
developing the body map, we utilize the sense of touch and the
sense of self-awareness, which keeps us constantly informed
about the weight, temperature, position and volume of our body.
'\ . ' The knowledge of our body map, helps us to begin to define our
border-lines and we can start to differentiate our bodies from
the external environment. In this way, we determine the foun-
dation of our life in three-dimensional space, as a prelude to
\ )
moving around in this space.
There are many prenatal determinants of the body map: these
will include the volume of the amniotic fluid (which can vary
co=iderably), the size and position of the umbilical cord, move-
ments of the child's limbs (especially the hands), the feel of the
uterine walls and the life-style of the mother which can provide
the child with different experiences inside the womb.
It is interesting to note that movements ofthe human being in
space are directed from prenatal life onwards towards the con-
struction ofa personal identity and that this movement is of great
help in achieving the necessary detachment. The more the child
can experience him or herself as being distinct from the environ-
ment the more he can later achieve becoming an individual in a
shared envirolll1;lent.
The Mother-Child Relationship during Pregnancy
We shall now look at pregnancy from the point of view of the
special relationship that is developed between the mother and her
child. Their life together may be very different due to different
biological and psychological factors.
The biological components can be readily understood: the age
of the mother, her health, the aualitv ami ommtir.v of h..,,. f""il
' i
intake and the air she breathes and all these affect the environ-
ment needed for the physical growth of the child. The psychologi-
cal components, however, are more difficult to understand.
During this special period of human life, a human being (the
child) stays in a container composed of another human being, the
mother. For the proper development of the child's psychic life, it
is essential that the living container, the mother, has an attitude
of acceptance. Bion, the English psychoanalyst, calls this relation-
ship "conviviality". This situation can be described as a "basic
maternal trust" in the pregnancy. This trust passes to the child
and becomes a condition and stimulus of his or her develoj)ment.
When such a situation exists, all the sensory experiences and
their emotional meaning can be processed and transformed into
mental content which is thEm stored in memory. This is what is
termed "learning" and using this process the child starts to think.
But when the mother has a "basic distrust" in the pregnancy
or when the mother ignores the pregnancy with an emotiona:l
detachment from it, the relationship between the "container" and
the child is very different; Bion terms it "parasitism". All the
experiences cannot be processed and consequently the stimula-
tion and sensory input cannot become transformed into mental
content. The child cannot understand them orintegrate them into
his or her psyche. Just like food that is not digestod, these
experiences cannot be assimilated and produce only confusion in
the mind. This situation is contrary to the integrated development
of the child. The emotional and cognitive components of life
remain separated and the whole process of psychological develop-
ment is greatly disturbed.
In the mother-child relationship during pregnancy, we can
clearly see the importance of "human mediation" through which
all physical and psychological life has to pass. Only when the
environment shows immediate and continuous acceptance can
this life become more human and improve in quality and quantity.
The maternal environment becomes a favorable place for the
development of both partners and the child is offered a functional
mental model that can lead to knowledge. Franco Fornari, an
Italian psychoanalyst, says that the mother helps'and "saves" the
child by accepting as hers the experiences that the fetus is still
..,,.._..,.hl_,.. .f." .j..~,..~~J:'~-~ 1..~.1-!-~ --.l~--•w-1.£"
 U4.UU6 pJ.ceu.aHL.}', avvta.l\.t::IJ;:i hilt! vctn.;:ut:s t:iCHl::>lL.lVtLY ·~:;owaros
the living child in the womb and the child's "prenatal affective
attachment", which establishes the basis for his affective rela-
tionship after birth. 'fhe child's brain stores the positive infor-
mation that it is being accepted and awaited.
2. The sense of smell is ready to function by the second month
of pregnancy. Many substances, deriving from maternal food,
pass into the amniotic fluid. These substances can establish
olfactory memories in the child and may later facilitate the
acceptance of these foods during weaning.
3. The sense of taste is active by the third month of preg-
nancy. In fact, the introduction of sweet or bitter substances
into the amniotic fluid can cause the child to swallow, grimace
and move, indicating that it can recognize differences in taste.
In the amniotic fluid pass also some tastes which come from
the food the mother eats. Indian babies, for instance, can
recognize the smell of curry and children from southern France
the smell of garlic. In reality they bring with them prenatal
olfactive memories which will later facilitate the acceptance of
the food from their environment.
4. The ear completes its structural development between the
second and fifth month of pregnancy; sounds produced with a
diapason can induce a faster heart-beat. It is important to note
that during prenatal life there is much stimulation of the sense of
hearing, both by internal and external sounds. Some internal
sounds are produced 24 hours a d!)y (such as the maternal heart-
beat and respiration) while others vary depending on life-styles
and environment: the voices of the mother and father, music,
traffic, etc. Research done in Japan has shown that newborns
whose mothers lived near Osaka airport during pregnancy were
able, after birth, to sleep through the roar of airplanes while other
newborns resented such disturbing sounds.
The fetus absorbs the particular characteristic rhythms of the
mother's language. In a sense the fetus is already at work,
learning the language!
It is also important to sing to the child even during pregnancy.
The mother could have some special songs for her child. 'rhese
songs will be memorized and can be of great help in calming and
I reassuring the child after birth.
- 8-
I
.._; '
.
·~
Figure 3. Listening to a concert during prenatal life.
In Pithiviers (France), the musician Marie Louise Aucher
helps expectant mothers to experience what is called a "sung
maternity". She says that sounds are registered not only by the ' -
ears but that the whole body is receptive to sound and that is why
sound-vibrations can give energy and help in maintaining neuro-
physiological equilibrium. Deep sounds are felt with the legs and
pelvis while high sounds are felt mainly with the thorax, m:ms ar:d
i :
head: "Psychophonic" experiments have demonstrated that chil-
dren who receive such stimulation during prenatal life show more
refined movements of the legs and arms. (See Figure 3).
It is very important to talk to the fetus and it is equally
important to sing to him; this stimulation is like a massage for the
brain and body. At the same time, the mother benefits from the
singing because it strengthens the diaphragm and all the rr;uscles
ofthe thorax and pelvis and it is precisely these muscles which are
of special interest during childbirth!
5. The eye is ready by the fourth month of pregnancy and all
the photoreceptors are complete before birth. 'rhe womb is ':'o~ as
dark a place as may be thought, and there can be much vanatw.n
depending on the climate and life-style of the mother. It .Is
certainly true that there is some visual stimulation in prenatal hfe
and that newborns actively seek any source of light. :
.'
-9.
 1 ;
'
' '
Fjgure 2, The fetal image in the last week ofpregnancy as seen by ultra so-u.nd,
but must work together in harmony: this is what is called "integra-
tion". All this must happen in the flrst years of life and, therefore,
education during this period is a priority. We must become more
aware that we live and function at a level very much below our full
brain potential. A better educational environment, from the very
beginning, is the only way to realize this pote.ntial.
The nervous system, since it is so important, is the part of
the embryo and fetus that develops fastest during pregnancy.
This is why the head is always so big in comparison to the rest
of the body.
At birth, a full-term infant has a head that is a quarter of
his or her totallilngth. (See Figure 2). The number of nervous
cells reaches a maximum by the seventh month of pregnancy.
The brain's growth during fetal life is astonishing with 20,000
cells being added every minute. In the last three months, a
full 2.2 milligrams are added to the brain each minute!
Marcus Johnson, a biophysicist at John Hopkins Univer-
sity, said that "Our brain is a perfect .tool and can take the
human being everywhere. It can give us a far richer life than
,_;
we thought possible until now."
We simply need to know it better through a more scientific
approach to education.
The Sensory Richness of Prenatal Life
The notion that the maternal womb is a place where there
are no sensations has been completely discarded. The prena-
tal child is a living being in continuous contact with the
environment. The brain develops rapidly with control over
sensory organs being developed in the following order: touch,
smell, taste, hearing and sight.
Recent research on newborns suggest that all the senses are
already being used during pregnancy. Duri."J!I p~enatallife; the
fetus prepares its strategies for future actlVIty m the em'lro'?-
ment. In the long period preceding birth, not only is there a rap1d
gain in weight and size, but also a rapid maturation of the
sensory functions. ·
It will be useful at this point to describe the development
of the senses.
1. The skin is the first and most important sense organ and it
is complete after seven to eight weeks of pregnancy. ~he sens~ of
touch remains the first and most important source ofmformation
about ourselves and the environment.
\¥hen we consider the amniotic fluid surrounding the child,
the child's capacity for movement, the umbilical cord, and the fact
that the child's hands are near to his mouth, it is obvious that the
sense of touch is continuously being stimulat~d and related to the
environment. The sense of touch acts as an organ for eommunica-
tion and defines the relationship. The sense of touch helps us to
communicate even when all other forms of communication are not
yet present or are lost; the pleasure of tactile stimulation remains
throughout life.
It should be noted that touching always implies being
touched· there is always a reciprocity and the possibility of a
relation~hip. In addition there is also always an affective
dimension to touching.
Frans Veldman, the founder of the Institute for Aptonomic
Communication (aptonomie is the science of touch), in the
Netherlands, recommends that future parents touch the
mother's abdomen with their hands and exert a light pressure
on it. From the fourth month onwards one can notice the fetus
_ .... ,.. .............. ...1~ ........ 1...~7 ............... ,..~ ......... rp}..; ............ ,...,,. ... ;t ....... ,.,. ,.,.,.,...,,...,...,,r;,.l' '"'"'"'""""~ ;),.,.._.,.
 ---¥- ··--~ ~...- ..,.._._...__._....._vu. 1->..u. VlJ,Ca U! Wl.C J,UHUW111i:;;
in which we will consider the development of the nervous system.
The Development of the Nervous System
Life is only possible within some enyjronments. In order to
relate to it limg beings need to know, respond and plan. There
has been life on our planet for five billion years, and it has
continually improved during this time, both in terms of quan-
tity and quality. Liyjng beings have become more and more
complex in order to gain better information and to adapt better.
New cells have appeared with the differential capacity for more
specific work and different tissues have evolved: nerves ' bones ,
muscles, etc.
The first modest signs of understanding and response to
the environment can be seen even in unicellular creatures. As
life became more complex, we developed a more complex ner-
vous system. (See Figure 1). There are three main stages in
this process (also known as the "Theory of the Three Brains"
by Paul McLean). 1
We must remember that, historically, life started from simple
unicellular creatures and reached the complexity of humans. In
our individual life, each of us recapitulates the whole of evolution,
starting from the single cell we are at the moment of conception.
The evolution of our nervous system is the histocy of successive
growth, enlargement and specialization. In this evolution we can
clearly recognize components which are related to three stsges
tha.toverlapped each other. Each of them contains special charac-
teristics of our personalities:
1. The component related to the reptilian stage of history (230
million years ago), which is the oldest and deepest part, provides
the instinct of self-preservation, a sense of individuality, the
defense of territocy and need for privacy.
2. The component associated with the lesser mammals (130
million years ago) relates to social consciousness, relationships, a
sense ofbelonging, care for offspring, compassion for companions,
and group presecvation which becomes more important than that
of the individual.
. 4·
iJGtgt!S
' ;
Figure 1. "Triune Brain Theory" by Paul Mcloon..,
3. The component related to the greater mammals (40 million
years ago), adds a refined sensory discrimination, a parti7ular
attention to the external enyjronment, long infancy, ratmnal
thinking, and the ability to solve life's prohlems in a creative way.
Finally when we arrive at human beings (only 1-2 million
years ago), the cortex has developed to such an extent th:"t it:'eeds ''
to be folded back on itselfrepeatedly in order to be contamed m the
head. 'fhe frontal part of the cortex, in particular, has developed
considerably and with it our capacity for rational thought, for
understanding space and time so as to be able to make prevision .,_,,
for the future and remember the past. Five billion years of
evolution are condensed in our nervous system, Our immense ' '
potential is expressed in the fact that although we have ?ne
hundred billion cerebral cells, we only use 2-4~ of t~em! It ~~ a
sobering thought to realize that we have all th1s bram capaCity
available and that it is not being used.
At this point we can relate anatomy and physiology to educa·
tion, since an important factor in stimulating the nervous s~stem ' '
to develop and help human heings to progress and evolve ts the
kind of enyjronment offered to them. The different parts of the
brain must not only be stimulated in order to make them function,
: i
:_;
I :
Chapter 1
PRENATAL LIFE
Introduction
In the effort to understand human beings better, scientific
research has steadily back tracked into the earliest phases oflife.
Advanced technology has made it possible to look into that part
of life which passes hidden in the maternal womb and we have
made many interesting discoveries. Today we look at this phase
as one ofthe most important periods in our personal development:
what happens during it can have short and long-term conse-
quences (Myron Hofer, The Roots ofHuman Behavior, San Fran-
cisco: Freman, 1981).
Conception and pregnancy constitute the first chapter of our
personal history, a chapter that lasts around 280 days, in an
environment totally different to that which we experience after
birth. But even in this special environment there are many
possibilities for interaction, and it is already possible to begin
education as a way of giving an "aid to life".
From the very beginning human beings are dynamic and
actively seek any kind of stimulation that can help in their
physical and psychological growth.
Leni Schwartz, ' in her book The World of the Unborn Child,
stresses the importance of prenatal life and shows how experi-
ences undergone during this period can influence the whole of
subsequent life. We should therefore make every effort to avoid
the mistake of believing that the period before birth is an un-
eventful time during which the child is completely safe, and that
problems only start after birth. As in every other phase of life,
prenatal life is subject to all kinds ofpositive and negative factors.
By the time we become aware of pregnancy, many days have
already passed since the real beginning ofthe human being. This
HntxrQnn 11 hna ~;:~ lrn>.:ll'lu cnont 'l~K ,l...,nro h•q'uo.l;nn
tube to reach the uterus. Implanted into the uterine mucosa he or
she has developed a sophisticated system of active relationship
and communication with the environment, that is, with the
mother. This new human being already has a small heart to
maintain ita blood circulation, blood that is shared with its mother
providing the oxygen and food needed to support life. At least a
couple of weeks pass in this way until the end of the first part of
pregnancy: this is termed the zygotic period. Mter this the human
being enters the embryonic period, during which all the parts of
the body are rapidly built up; it will only take eight to ten weel<s
to complete such a big job!
This enormous surge of physical development occurs simulta-
neously with an enormous amount of mental development. The
most extraordinary phen6menon is certainly the capacity for
memory, which is present fi•om conception and continues to
develop as the nervous system matures.
The fact that there is mental activity d.uring prenatal life
might seem a little strange to us. It may even be difficult to define
exactly what "mental activity" is. Generally, "mental activity" can
be defined as any capacity (of whatever complexity) to receive
information, give answers, accumulate experiences and respond
appropriately to them.
At this point, we must recognize that all living beings can
do this; it is only the quantity and quality of the mental work
that varies.
For example, we know very well that single-cell organisms are
able to acquire information and pass it on to their cell-offspring!
Plants can recognize people around them and love classical music -
(they are disturbed by rock music!).
There are many everyday biological phenomena that are
required in order to maintain life such as immunity and the repair
of tissues, which illustrate how much intelligent psychic activity
there is in every cell of our body. For the scientist it is becoming
more and more difficult to separate the physical from the psychic.
In considering human beings, the problem can be clarified by
distinguishing the psychic from the conscious. Only a very small
amount of mental work is conscious; the rest is psychic and is
expressed throngh physical effects such as muscular movement,
.1rnuT'l ~1 ... ,. -fn 11 .......... ~ nv-.
 I
~

PART I

: )

Education as an "Aid to Life"

' '
"The fundamental concept for the educator is not to become
an obstacle in the development of the child." : l

MARIA MONTESSORI: "THE CHilD IN THE FAM!LY"

 ourselves, to acquire a larger awareness ofreality. In this way our of every human science. Science has taught us that life energy
limits are stretched, as is our ability to participate in life. cannot be stopped, but that itean be deviated and transformed into
'l'he child, with its immense physical and intellectual poten- physical and mental pathologies. To avoid such negative conse-
tial, is a miracle standing before us, although it is only in the last quences, we have to have correct information about the child who
..
..
• few decades that we have realized this. 'fhis new understanding is to be educated and his extraordinary capacities.
of the child should be passed on to all parents, educators, and Knowledge of the child should become the centre of our
other persons interested in children, because education from the interest and the basis of a new form of education which serves to
start oflife could really change present and future society. At the help human beings to reach a high level of emotional, intellectual
same time, educators should never forget that the development of and moral integration.
human potential cannot be determined by ourselves. We can only With a great love oflife and with a better understanding of the
"serve" in the development of children, because this takes place in child we can achieve the scientific education that Maria Montessori
an environment in which there are laws governing the proper began at the beginning of this century and which modern science
functioning of every human being and thus each development increasingly has shown to be valid and appropriate for the
must be in harmony with that of the whole world that surrounds complete self-realization oHhe human being~.
us and with the entire universe.
The main aim of education must be that of helping humans to
know who they are and what they must do in order to grow and
achieve self-realization, improving their own lives and their sur-
roundings. In this connection, a few basic points should be made:
1. Each human being is born into the world with an immense
potentiaL
2. Each human being has marvelous self-regulating mecha-
nisms that are frequently prevented from working because of our
;_ ; interference in vital processes.
3. Each person close to a child is important and can be an
r-
1 "educator" because he could help in development, if he knows
' ; what to do.
4. The period f.rom 0 to 3 years of age is one in which the mind
and body must reAch a harmonious balance, because the entire
subsequent life depends on the quality of this first phase of
development.
5. Education that is conceived as giving an aid to life must
always be in harmony with our pasts and look to the future. We
have been inserted into the giant experiment of!ife called evolu-
tion, which has taken about five billion years. All this history is
j : reproduced in individual development, ontogenesis recapitulates
' ' phylogenesis.
In this book we shall consider the different stages of human
rl<>v~>ll)nm~>ntllnrl t.rv t.nnnrlP.r~tHnrl thP.ir Rhmiticance with the heln

WH)' IT 18 IMPORTANT TO KNOW THE CHILD
In Maria Montessori's book TheDiscouery of the Child (1948),
she called the child an unknown being, and she was certainly
right. Even now, after so many years of psychoanalysis, psychol-
ogy, psychiatry and pediatrics, we see that all these disciplines
have not yet become integrated and have not yet succeeded in
influencing the education of human beings to any significant
extent.
The child, particularly in the first three years of!ife, continues
to be unknown, even though we are very well aware of the fact
that all the most important personality developments take place
during these years. During the same years, the child is mainly
educated by the parents (or other adults in the family) or, for those
children of working parents, by special institutions that are run
by staff who are r,ot really trained adequately for the important
task they perform.
The family is certainly a prime determinant for the positive
development of the child. The parents should therefore under-
stand that they hold the key to the development of a happy,
integrated, strong human being.
Appropriate human help is needed to develop the richness in
every child. Such development is the extraordinary task that
Maria Montessori calls "The mission that compels the child to
grow and to become a complete hum.an being, to realize itself. For
this reason, the <:hild is truly the father of the adult."
It is important to realize that at birth we have just begun the
wo~k of making ourselves human beings, but we have all the
potential for the task. Erich Fromm says: "The individual's entire
life is nothing but a process of giving birth to him or herself: in
truth we are full born only when we die."
But, if it is true that our process of education takes the whole
of a lifetime, the importance of this education is greater the
younger the child. The first years of life should be considered
fundamental in the literal sense in that they form the basis for the
edifice of the personality.
In order to provide adequate help in this construction activity,
good will and the willingness to work are not enough; we also need
the right information.
~ viii -
Villy lUVt:: lUi" LHt: C!UlU, UlUt.t:U Wltli i:;t~t:lt:Hl!HJ\,; !UlUWit:Ut;t:, lil:lll
truly start the process of a "new education" capable of helping in
the development of human beings ready for our new world. This
world is full of great technological forces that, utilized appropri-
ately, could enable humanity to achieve real progress and peace.
We can contribute to this progress by helping children in an
appropriate way.
Maria Montessori spoke of education as giving an "aid to life"
but, in order to achieve this, adult educationalists need to under-
stand the importance and the limits of their role and techniques.
It is the purpose of this book to improvegur understanding of
the child, from prenatal life up to the age of three, in order to be
able to give appropriate help from the beginning of life onwards.
I shall be referring to recent scientific discoveries and relying on
many years of personal observations of parents and children.
Throughout this book, for the sake of simplicity, I will refer to
the primary care-giver as the mother, though fathers and unre-
lated adults can also be primary care-givers. I will also use the
male pronoun when referring te the infant.
Having a better understanding of children is the best way to
understand ourselves and the reality which surrounds us. To this
end, we have to keep in mind the general frame of reference that
surrounds human beings; that is, the project oflife. The richness
every human being has inside them can be realized only in the
context of an environment, and with the help ofthis environment.
But every environment contains other human beings that
matter, because only they are able to transform it and to make it
be more supportive to the development oflife.
.I am deeply convinced that every personal transforriui.tion
involves an initial state during which new information is received.
The information is then accepted, assimilated and understood.
This new understanding creates an internal change that, in turn,
effects an external change in behavior. Knowledge, understanding,
and change, through the process of education is assistance to life.
In a lecture given in Rome (1931), Maria Montessori said, "In
order to understand the child so as to be able to educate him, we
r ;
must first know life in its entirety."
But education is a relationship between humans. Relation-
ships with children give us ·a special opportunity to improve
- ix-
 List of Illustrations
'' '
Figure 1. "Triune Brain Theory" by Paul McLean 5 Figure 15. The difference in the quantity of dendrites found in
the brain cortex at birth and after only three months 76
Figure 2. The fetal image in the laat week of pregnancy
as seen by ultra sound 6 Figure 16. A weaning table and chair serve as important educational too1s 91
< '

Figure 3. Listening to a concert during prenatal life 9 Figure 17. A nine month old child feeding himself with a fork 97
Figure 4. The newborn fourteen hours after birth. The mother's Figure 18. A bed that provides the child with the opportunity
voice is an important point of reference 18 to move and to obseive ll o
Figure"5. \Vhen the newborn can touch his face with his hands 1 Figure 19 and 20, With a large enough space for free movement,
.~
he experiences an important personal point of reference 19 a child of five months ean slither to reach what he wants
'
and experience it through his senses 112
Figure 6, The newborn needs sufficient space for unhindered
vision and movemtJnt 26 Figure 21. The child is free to explore by hillll!elf 113
Figure 7. Breast-feeding is food for the beginning of a human Figure 22. At seven months a child is able to sit 114
relationship; the foundation of social life 36
Figure 23. At twelve months the child can w;alk llfi
Figure 8. A trusting relationship between a father and his child 48
Figure 24. The joy that comes from perfonning independent activity 117
Figure 9. The family is the basic unit of human society 50
Figure 25. A mirror helps the child to see how they move 119
Figure 10. The father and the newborn can experience a lov)ng
human relationship from the beginning 55 , Figure 26. Furniture found in tlte home can provide opportunity
for movement 119
Figure 11. The father's presence introduces the child to the pleasure
of mastering his world 57 · Figure 27 and 28. Through practical life activities the child and
the adult can work together 121
F'igure 12. Maternal E11re is doing things "with the child" 64
Figure 29. A two year old child watering the plante 123
Figure 13. 'fhe voice, the eyes and the smile of each mother-child
relationship will become the "language" of their special Figure 30. A two and a half-year-old girl learning to cut correctly 127
~ communication 72
' ' Figure 31. A two and a half-year-old learning to sew 128
Figure 14. A neurone 75
 . ..
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utt.tnmu rl:lyt.:HO!:lUU!ai.Jc unn;y uo ~ '

Chapter 6: Communication with the Child 68

PART 1: EJ)UCATION AS AN "AID TO LIFE'' 1
Chapter 1: Prenatal Life 2
Introduction 2
The Development of the Nervous System 4
The Sensory Richness of Prenatal Life 7
Children's Experiences of Themselves 10
The Mother-Child Relationship during Pregnancy 111
Different Fetal States of Consciousness 13
Preparation for Birth 14
Chapter 2: Birth • Separation and Attachment 16
A Continuum of Experience:
A Different Place but the Same Person 16
The Newborn's Points of Reference 17
Separation and Attachment 19
The Concept of"Exterogestation" 21
The Significance of the Newborn's He1plessneSB 23
Basic Needs of the Newborn 24
Ch11pter 8: The Symbiotic Life of the First 6-8 Weeks .28
The Significance and Advantages of Symbiotic Life 28
Food for Biological Welfare 311
Food for Human Relationship 34
The Wisdom of Life 42
Basic Trust 44
Chapter 4 The Father's Presence 47
What is a "Father"? 47
The Importance of Both Parents 49
The Father during Pregnancy 51
The Father at Childbirth 52
The ''Protective Barrier'' of Symbiotic Life 54
'fhe ~'ather as a Help to Autonomy and Independence 56
PART 1!: EVERYTHING WE DO WITH THE
CHILD IS 'EDUCATION' 59
Chapter 5: The Meaning of Maternal Care 60
What is Maternal Care? 60
"Holding" fur Breast-Feeding and Intimacy 62
"Handling" for Carc·Giving and Social Interaction 63
Introduction 68
Non-verbal Communication in the Newborn 69
Special Communication between .Mother and Child 70
Communication and Knowledge 73
Chapter 7: The Brain's Potential and the Absorbent Mind 75
The Amazing Brain 75 : I
The Human "Hardware" 77
The Two Cerebral Hemispheres 80
The Absorbent Mind SS
The Different Components of the Human Mind 84
CHAPTER 8: Weaning 89
Food and Independence 89
A New Relationship with the Environment 90
Preparation for Weaning 93
Mixed and Artificial Feeding 99
PART ill: INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT
OFTHEHUMANBEING 104
Chapter 9: The Development of Coordinated Movement 105
Introduction 105
Different Stages of Movement 107
An Environment for :Movement 109
Movement and Knowledge 125
The Importance of Clothing in Movement 131
Chapter 10: The Development of Langnage 134
The Mystery of Spoken Language 134
The Stages of Language Development 136
Learning Several Languages 144
Chapter 11: The Developmental Crises of the First Three-Years 148
Introduction 148
The Crisis of Birth 149
The Crisis of Weaning 151
The Crisis of Opposition 157
Chapter 1.2: Children's Education and the Futnre of Humanity 162
Conclusions 162
References 166

~ :iv • - v.
 Understanding the Human Being
ThelmportanceoftheFirstThree YearsofLife
All Rights Reserved
Copyright© 1991 by Silvana Quattrocchi Montanaro, M.D.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying, recording. or by any information
storage and retrieval system, without permission
in writing from the publisher.
''
Published 1987 "Un Essere Umano"
Rome, Italy, Cooperativa Editrice .JL VENTAGLIO
Published 1991 by Nienhuis Montessori USA
140 E. Dana Street, Mountain View, California 94041
Catalog II 5.315.00
ISBN 1-879341-00-X
SIXTH EDITION (2007)
PRINTED 1N THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
DEDICATION
I wish to dedicate this book to all parents, who are the first
educators of a human being, to the Assistants to Infancy and to
primary school teachers. 'l'hey have the power, through the envi-
ronment they offer, to enhance a child's potential or deviate and
limit it.
Children are wonderful human beings. To live with them, as
parents or adults, is a precious opportunity which enriches our life
while serving life where it h<;gins.
At the inauguration of the first "Casa dei Ba.mbinijj in Rome, the
6th of January 1907, feast of the Epiphany, Maria Montessori quoted
the biblical reading of the day, from the prophet Isaiah 60: "Arise,
shine out, for your light has come .... ". She felt that the passage was
an omen for the beginning of her work.
S.Q.M.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
All my gratituck and my ckepest thanks to Karen and
Edward Voorhees who helped me with suggestions and editing.
Without their work, patience and support the English
edition of this book would not have been printed.
S.Q.M.
Rome, November 199(}
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