Emotions
From birth, your baby has a full range of emotional feelings. You may be concerned that your baby cries too much, or seems disinterested, or that emotional issues underpin sleeping or feeding difficulties. Or you may simply wish to maximise your baby's happiness.
If you would like support, you may have individual or family consultations, or join one of our groups where parents and babies meet on a regular basis.
Child psychologists and peri-natal psychotherapists specially trained in the developmental period before and after birth are on hand to listen to your baby and to provide support and guidance for you. They will recomend referral to a trusted paediatrician if there is any concern about physical health, or if you wish to rule out an underlying problem. Viveka's 'Emo' team includes our family therapist Ann Herreboudt, and psychotherapist Kitty Hagenbach, who specialises in the early years.
Babies respond to their parents' feelings and to family issues. Many parents appreciate support to boost their own self confidence and strengthen their parental relationship - then they feel more confident and this tends to be reflected in their baby's contentment.
Complementary therapists recognise and work with the emotional body as well as the physical body (the 'bodymind'); treatments are nurturing and gentle. Massage, homeopathy and accupressure, as well as cranial osteopathy have been used for many years at Vivkea; babies are very responsive to these gentle techniques.
A variety of parenting courses provide guidance and the opportunity to build a network of friends and supporters with other local parents.
Did you know ?
Recent discoveries in neuroscience confirm that a baby's emotional drives and emotional memory are well developed before birth. The first 3 years are fundamental for how your baby's neural patterns develop and how he or she experiences the world for the rest of their lives. The research also shows that the more consistently a baby's needs are met, the more likely they are to experience the world positively, to cry less and feel secure, and to be able to form strong bonds and loving relationships, in infancy and right through to adulthood. A baby's fundamental needs are: 'Hold me, Love me, Feed me, See me, Hear me'.
