CranioSacral Therapy and the Beginning of Life

-Written by Cherry Cheung(RCST)

For many years, traditional medicine largely believed that babies had very little awareness or memory in early life. Yet growing research and clinical understanding now suggest something quite different — that even before birth, babies are deeply sensitive, aware, and responsive beings.

Within the womb, a baby is not simply growing passively. They are already experiencing, sensing, and relating to the world around them. They can feel comfort and stress, respond to sound and touch, and begin forming connections long before birth. These earliest experiences may shape not only physical development, but also emotional wellbeing and the nervous system throughout life. That is why, sometimes, it can come as a surprise to us when children share experiences from the womb or even from before birth.

Psychologist Dr. David Chamberlain wrote extensively about the remarkable awareness of unborn babies. Research suggests that by around 7 weeks in the womb, babies can already respond to touch and move away from bright light. By 14th weeks, they are able to react to sound. Ultrasound observations have also shown unborn babies expressing a wide range of emotional responses, including joy, excitement, fear, sadness, and distress.

Even more beautifully, studies of twins in the womb have shown them gently touching and responding to one another with surprising tenderness. These discoveries remind us that human connection begins far earlier than we once imagined.

As a CranioSacral Therapist, I work with people across many stages of life, including pregnancy, birth, and the postnatal period. In CranioSacral work, we understand that life is continually taking shape through experience. Even when conscious memories are long forgotten, the body and nervous system may still hold the imprint of early experiences.

Experiences during pregnancy and birth can sometimes influence how a person later responds to stress, relationships, emotions, or feelings of safety. At times, these early patterns may also be reflected within the body itself — through tension, sensitivity within the nervous system, or long-held protective patterns.

This is why gentle, respectful support during pregnancy, birth, and early infancy can be so valuable. When we begin to recognise babies as aware and feeling individuals from the very beginning of life, it naturally changes the way we care for and relate to them.