Childbirth and being born

A thinking space within the framework of the ISFN on the experience of childbirth and on being born

Intention

We are proposing a thinking space within the framework of the ISFN on the experience of childbirth and on being born. We are navigating in the footprints of Sandor Ferenczi and the Budapest school, as well as the last 30 years’ progressives perinatal domain.

Our intention is to seek psychoanalytical reflections on the birth phenomena from the maternal as well as from the infantile experience. Our social context and environment, us being modern, civilized, western men and women created our representations, influenced by medical realities, impinging on natural resources. Reconnecting with natural processes is one of our goals.

We are starting this field work hoping to be joined by other points of views feminist, ecological, anthropologic and poetic approaches are welcome.

History

At the 2018 Ferenczi conference in Florence, three authors met: Ornella Piccini (Florence), Zsofia Szekely (Budapest), Julianna Vamos (Paris) with Judith Vida-Spence (USA) as a chair of our panel. In three different places, with three different psychoanalytic interests, we turned to the same topic: the psychoanalytic understanding of the perinatal experience. Without us having known each other before, our lecture panel was successful and attuned to each other – we were bound together by our passion for the subject. We were proposed by ISFN’s president C. Bonomi to make a discussion/study group and we agreed to continue.

One of the most important connecting threads was clearly the work of Sandor Ferenczi, so in January 2019 we held the first meeting and discussion of the Birth Study Group, hosted by the Ferenczi House in Budapest, thanks to the kind offer of Judit Meszaros and the presence of Ferenc Eros.

In the year -2024- the thematic issue on motherhood of Imágó Budapest online journal – edited by Zsofia Szekely was published entitled: What does the mother want? Original papers by Julianna and Ornella are included in this issue, in Hungarian translation. Find the Editorial here, translated to English.

Then followed our presence in ISFN colloques and Ferenczi 150 celebration in Budapest and then our presence and papers for 14th international Ferenczi Conference in Sao Paulo.

Project proposal

The interdisciplinary discussion/study group Childbirth and Being Born, thinking around the perinatal period, proposes regular publication for sharing perinatal experiences in the light S. Ferenczi’s work, in articulation with contemporary analytical contributions following the spirit of the Budapest school.

New publication could arrive 3 times a year January, May and November with our contribution as well as by colleagues in this clinical field and close to the Ferenczi spirit. Once a year we can propose an international Zoom meeting around an agreed theme.

We wish to exchange the following themes/topics:

• Important contributions and exchange on perinatal experiences in the light of SF and the of the BP school
• The patient in analysis is pregnant
• When life begins: couples in creating the space for a new life to come
• The psychology of helpers around birth
• First weeks in a newborn family
• Mother-daughter relationship, the feminine transmission
• Birth without complications
• Neurophysiology of mother-child connection and the role of pleasure for the relationship
• Trauma around birth
• The newborn’s competencies and tasks
• Homebirth
• The feminist vision on medical politics in the maternities
• IVF and difficulty with conceiving
• Contemplating abortion and recovering from abortion
• The present and the absent father
• Creating an environment to welcome a baby with special needs
• Sibling experience of competing with sibling with special needs

We are happy to hear suggestions for further related topics.

Contact: szekely.zsofia@ppk.elte.hu, jv@juliannavamos.com, ornykom@gmail.com

The Authors