What Babies Know

In my daily perusal of books and articles relating to women, babies and childbirth, I read a quote by David Chamberlain, PhD about some of the gifts babies give to us. Dr. Chamberlain is one of my heroes and a pioneer in the field of pre and perinatal psychology (birthpsychology .com ). The following is a quote of his taken from his 2006 commencement speech to the graduating class of the Santa Barbara Graduate Institute..."Babies are powerful beings with a huge mission. On arrival, they turn women into mothers, men into fathers, and couples into families. They humanize us, teach us
tenderness, and inspire attachment. If we let them, they lead us toward a true civilization.
And for all this, they get no particular credit for a magnificent effort!"

Wow! Yesterday while in a 5:00pm traffic jam news on the radio put a huge smile on my face. To hear word that in the midst of abject tragedy in China, an on-duty policewoman had the compassion and love to nurse several babies who were found in the wreckage...these are the stories that make me proud to be a part of the human race. When continuously barraged with headline after headline of examples of humanity's capacity for evil, a story like this is a reminder that there is SO much good going on all over the planet every day.

Think of the beautiful babies that inspired the policewoman in China to breastfeed them. She opened her heart( and her uniform blouse) to nurse them back to life with her breastmilk. What a beautiful image of Madonna providing succor to the innocent babes left motherless by the destruction of the earthquake. How babies do inspire us...just like Dr. Chamberlain said.