The Birth Story We Carry: How Our Earliest Experiences Shape Emotional Patterns
We often talk about birth trauma from the perspective of the birthing person – and rightfully so. But what's less commonly discussed is how these earliest experiences create imprints that the baby carries forward, sometimes for a lifetime. Alyse Bacine – a Transformational Trauma Expert and Breathwork Practitioner and CEO of Alyse Breathes – shines a light on this.
I'm a Transformational Trauma Expert and Breathwork Practitioner with over 23 years of experience in the field. With a Master's Degree in Counseling Psychology and certification in Social-Emotional Learning, my work focuses on how early experiences – particularly the birth story itself – shape our unconscious patterns throughout life. In my work, I have noticed how little attention goes to the imprint of our beginnings.
When we talk about birth trauma, of course it makes sense to look at this from the perspective of the birthing person. What's less commonly discussed though, and in my professional opinion key in the conversation too, is how these earliest experiences create imprints that the baby carries forward, sometimes for a lifetime.
In my trauma work, I've observed that our very first transition – from womb to world – establishes fundamental patterns in our nervous system for how we navigate change, connection, and safety. These patterns don't exist in our conscious memory, yet they influence how we approach beginnings, transitions, and endings.
Research in pre- and perinatal psychology supports this understanding. Studies show that the developing nervous system records experiences and forms patterns long before explicit memory develops (Chamberlain, 2013). These early imprints can shape our approach to life's transitions, our sense of safety in the world, and even our relationship with change.
“Two people with similar birth circumstances may carry entirely different imprints”
Recognising our birth story patterns
How might your birth experience still be influencing you today? I've observed some common patterns connected to birth experiences:
Difficulty starting or completing projects
Feeling stuck or anxious during periods of transition
Resistance to launching creative work into the world
Patterns of struggle before breakthrough moments
Challenges with closure or endings
One person I worked with (whom I'll call Sarah) came to me puzzled by her pattern of becoming physically ill before every business launch. Despite meticulous preparation, her body would sabotage her at the final moment. Through our trauma-focused work together, we discovered that Sarah's birth had involved a prolonged labour that ended in an emergency cesarean. Her body was unconsciously replicating this pattern – building up to a natural emergence, then experiencing a crisis requiring intervention – in her professional life.
Birth is more than an event
Birth isn't simply something that happens to us – it’s our first experience of existence outside the womb, our first major transition, our first experience of separation. The quality of that experience – whether calm or chaotic, supported or frightening – creates templates in our nervous system for navigating future transitions.
But just as trauma is in the eye of the beholder (which Make Birth Better guest writer Emma Davies discusses here too), so too is the impact of birth. Two people with similar birth circumstances may carry entirely different imprints. What may have been traumatic for one may be experienced as empowering by another.
This is why it's so important to approach birth trauma healing – both for birthing people and for those processing their own birth stories – with an individualized, trauma-informed approach that honours each person's unique experience.
“In healing birth trauma lies the potential to break generational patterns”
The nervous system connection
Modern neuroscience helps us understand why these early experiences matter so profoundly. The developing brain and nervous system are exquisitely sensitive during the prenatal period and birth. As Dr Bruce Perry's research on neurodevelopment shows, early experiences shape neural networks before conscious memory forms (Perry & Szalavitz, 2017).
These early imprints occur through several mechanisms:
Physiological patterning: Our first experience of transition establishes templates in our nervous system for how we navigate change
Attachment formation: Birth and immediate postpartum establish our first experiences of connection or separation
Sensory processing: Our sensory systems record the sounds, sensations, and emotional environment of birth, becoming part of our implicit memory system
Breaking generational patterns
One of the most potent aspects of healing birth trauma – both for birthing people and those coming to terms with their own birth stories – is the potential to break generational patterns.
In my work with clients, I've observed how unresolved birth trauma can influence parenting patterns across generations. A parent who experienced a disempowering birth may unconsciously create similar patterns of disempowerment with their child. Alternatively, they might swing to the opposite extreme, creating new challenges.
When we bring compassionate awareness to these patterns, we create the possibility of healing across generations. This is perhaps the most profound gift we can offer – not just healing for ourselves but also creating new possibilities for those who come after us.
“The brain’s neuroplasticity allows these early imprints to be identified and reshaped”
Moving toward healing
If you recognise these patterns in yourself, know that healing is possible. The brain's neuroplasticity allows these early imprints to be identified and reshaped. Approaches that work with body and mind are particularly effective because birth experiences are stored primarily as physical and emotional patterns rather than cognitive memories.
Some approaches that show particular promise include:
Somatic experiencing approaches that help regulate the nervous system
Breathwork that accesses subconscious material stored in the body
Narrative work that helps create new meaning around birth experiences
Mindfulness practices that build present-moment awareness
As we honour these earliest chapters of our story, we can begin to distinguish between past imprints and present reality, creating space for new patterns to emerge.
Freeing ourselves
Your birth story is not just a tale of how you came into the world – it’s a formative experience that continues to shape how you move through it. By bringing compassionate awareness to these earliest imprints, we can begin to heal what I refer to as the foundational birth story patterns, freeing ourselves to experience transitions, beginnings, and endings with greater ease and authenticity.
In doing this work, we don't just heal ourselves – we contribute to a more trauma-informed approach to birth that honours the experience of both birthing people and the babies they bring into the world.
References:
Chamberlain, D. (2013). Windows to the womb: Revealing the conscious baby from conception to birth. North Atlantic Books.
Perry, B. D., & Szalavitz, M. (2017). The boy who was raised as a dog: And other stories from a child psychiatrist's notebook. Basic Books.
Emerson, W. (1996). The vulnerable prenate. Journal of Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health, 10(3), 125-142.
Levine, P. A. (2015). Trauma and memory: Brain and body in a search for the living past. North Atlantic Books.