In the winter, my family enjoys hiking the trails in our local park and searching for animal tracks dotted in the snow. Each animal has a distinct track print; the deer, rabbits and squirrels will leave their unique mark on the ground. When we find a set of tracks that cross our path, we like to make up stories about where the animal came from and where it was going.
We as human beings also leave track imprints in the snow, both literally and metaphorically. And our imprints also tell a story of where we came from and where we are going. Our first imprints are created long before we are born. The initial cast of our imprint comes from our parents. And not from their genetics per se, but from their epigenetic influence.
These prenatal and perinatal imprints are called our “Birth Imprints.” A Birth Imprint is similar to a thumbprint in that it is your unique and individual marker that expresses a part of who you are. A ‘Birth Imprint’ is a stress event that effects the baby physically, chemically or emotionally. These imprints can be positive or negative, depending on how well we adapt or not adapt to them. They are indeed imprints because they do leave a mark on how we respond physically, chemically and emotionally to future events.
These stress imprints can be compartmentalized into physical, chemical or emotional in origin. In Chiropractic, we talk about the “3 T’s of DIS-EASE.” They are Trauma, Toxins and Thoughts. A synonymous term for DIS-EASE can be stress and another way to say the “3 T’s” are physical, chemical and emotional. So in general, there are three stresses that effect our health: physical stress, chemical stress and emotional stress.
An example of physical stress might be a bone fracture. Even when the bone heals, osseous scar tissue is left behind at the break site and might even cause you to limp a little with your gait. An example of chemical stress is tobacco smoking. Long after you put out the cigarette, it leaves minute scar tissue imprints on the lungs. An example of emotional stress is an unavailable father growing up. Even if you haven’t talked to him in years, it leaves you with trust issues that effects your current marriage relationship.
While the majority of physical and chemical imprints can be easily materialized and are more concrete, emotional imprints are a little more abstract and harder to pindown in a petri dish. Here’s the rub: emotional stress has the greatest impact on epigenetic influence and Birth Imprint expression.
Referencing work done by Dr. Bruce Lipton, PhD, confirms this emotional epigenetic influence on fetal development. For too long, medicine thought that the mother just fed the baby food to its predetermined genes. But the mother feeds the baby way more than just nutrition, it feeds the baby emotionally as well.
The “chemistry of emotions” manifested through hormones also crosses the placenta and bathes the fetus and its amniotic fluid. If the mother is depressed, the baby is bathed in those stress hormones. If the mother is happy, the baby is bathed in those hormones that promote happiness. The baby’s brain starts to learn from this environment and will turn on or turn off genes according to the preset environment. Chronic stress of the mother leads to chronic stress gene expression in the baby.
The father can also influence this environment by not caring for the mother and her environment properly. Dr. Bruce Lipton expounds on a study that observed a fetus through a sonogram. The father was fighting and yelling at the mother and the fetus responds to the argument emotionally and physically.
Another great reference is Dr. Joe Dispenza, DC who further elaborates on this emotional epigenetic influence. He explains a similar process under the guise of “Genomic Imprinting.” Thoughts, emotions and behaviors of both parents cast the first genetic die at conception. And these emotional influences are not just at the moment of conception, but can be influenced by the emotional and chemical makeup of both parents hours to days before conception. Why such an influence? If you are living in an environment struck by stress, poverty, uncertainty or danger, you want offspring that is best able to survive in that environment. The child will be genetically predisposed to stress, poverty, uncertainty and danger.
This leads into the work done by Anna Verwaal, RN, CLE, who has observed these emotional influences expressing themselves through lifelong signs. For example, if a child was born prematurely and spent months in an incubator, the adult often feels isolated from the world, feeling like they live life surrounded by four enclosing walls. Adults who are born prematurely also are more sensitive to light, sound and touch. This is because when secluded in the loud, well-lit hospital incubator, these sensations often led to pain or discomfort brought on by some medical procedure.
Education is the key to minimizing emotional stress to the child and parents. Educating parents that they are not victims of their past but victors of their future is the best place to start. There is a well-known quote that states, “We can not direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.” This idea fits perfectly within the Chiropractic health mindset. Having the word “adjust” in the quote doesn’t hurt either. Not only can we adjust the sails in the right direction, but strengthen them as well. Since the stronger the sail, the better it can confront the winds of change. This is where we ought to be when it comes to any kind of stress: strengthening our reserve, preventing its exposure and overcoming their obstacles.
- Jarek Esarco, DC, CACCP
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Jarek Esarco, DC, CACCP is a pediatric, family wellness and upper cervical specific Chiropractor. He is an active member of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA). Dr. Jarek has postgraduate certification in Pediatric Chiropractic through the ICPA. Dr. Jarek also has postgraduate certification in the HIO Specific Brain Stem technique through The TIC Institute. Dr. Jarek is happily married to his wife Regina. They live in Youngstown, Ohio with their daughter Ruby.
