The use of ultrasonic scans in pregnancy makes it possible to observe the fetus undisturbed in the womb. Dr Alessandra Piontelli has done what no one has done before: she observed eleven fetuses (three singletons and four sets of twins) in the womb using ultrasound scans, and then observed their development at home from birth up to the age of four years. She includes a description of the psychoanalytic psychotherapy of one of the research children, and the psychoanalysis of five other very young children whose behaviour in analysis suggested that they were deeply preoccupied with their experience in the womb. Dr Piontelli has discovered what many parents have always thought - that each fetus, like each newborn baby, is a highly individual creature. By drawing on her experience as a child psychotherapist and psychoanalyst as well as on her observational research, she is able to investigate issues relating to individuality, psychological birth and the influence of maternal emotions during pregnancy. Her findings demonstrate clearly how psychoanalytical evidence enhances, deepens and supports observational data on the remarkable behavioural and psychological continuities between pre-natal and post-natal life.

Much has been written about twins. Very, little, however, is about their everyday lives, not even postnatal let alone prenatal. In this fascinating new study Alessandra Piontelli follows the development and behaviour of thirty pairs of twins from their early life in the womb through to their third year as members of the human community. Drawing on detailed ultrasound observations and work with mothers and families in clinical and natural settings to trace the subtle ways in which various types of twins live, behave and interact with their unequally shared and unique pre- and postnatal environments.
Piontelli shows how from a very early on distinctive and personal traits can be seen in the behaviour of each member of a twin couple and how these traits continue and strengthen well beyond birth. At the same time, the 'couple effect' has an impact on their behaviour even after the birth when social interactions begin. The book describes not only the behaviour of the twins, but the impact they have on the lives of their family and carers - what family members say, how they react and how the family changes.
Scientifically based, but warmly human in content, this unique longitudinal study offers new insights to professionals working with mothers and families of twins and to researchers in human development across a range of disciplines.

Contents:
Introduction 1. Biology of Twinning 2. Twin Pregnancy and the Twin Fetus 3. Intrauterine Behaviour 4. Antecedents and Forerunners of Postnatal Life 5. Still in Hospital: Birth and Soon After Birth 6. Back Home 7. The Initial Stages of Twinship 8. 'Twinning' 9. Becoming 'Twinned' - The Couple Effect 10. Change in the Twins 11. Different Types of Twins 12. Changes in the Family 13. Conclusions

The advent of ultrasound scans has made it possible to observe the fetus undisturbed in its natural surroundings. In this remarkable book, Dr Alessandra Piontelli describes in moving detail her observations of the behaviour of several children from very early stages in the womb, through birth, to infancy and childhood. By drawing on her experiences as a child psychotherapist and psychoanalyst as well as on her observational research, she is able to investigate issues relating to individuality, psychological birth and the influence of maternal emotions during pregnancy.
The first study of its kind, From Fetus to Child shows how observational and psychoanalytic data can offer different but complementary insights in attempting to answer fundamental questions about human development.

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In the later stages of gestation, fetal functions undergo increasing change and development, preparing the fetus for the transition to its postnatal environment. Rapid maturation is witnessed in breathing, swallowing, sensory functions, sleep, and many other processes, with corresponding behavioral changes. By 35 to 40 weeks of gestation, fetuses are capable of living ex utero without support, but it is increasingly appreciated that even infants born at between 35 and 36 weeks can suffer long-term consequences. This book, which complements the author's previous volume on development of normal fetal movements during the first 25 weeks of gestation, discusses in detail the full range of behavioral phenomena observed during the final 15 weeks of gestation, with careful analysis of their mutual relationships. A key feature is the outstanding photographic material, difficult to obtain at this late stage, and the instructive graphs that are also included. The information provided will alert clinicians to deviations from the norm and to physiologic phenomena that can turn pathologic in infants born prematurely.

This book discusses many aspects of fetuses and motherhood from fields as wide as sociology and medicine. It examines changing perceptions of the fetus over recent decades, comparing western ideas with those of non-western countries; examining maternal mental health during COVID-19 and charting the ascent of the 'fetus' to a cult phenomenon, which has currently reappeared in the courts. This work, given its multifaceted approach, will be of interest to a varied and wide range of people, from parents to doctors and nurses, to anthropologists and ethnologists, to scientists, to students of various disciplines, to psychologists and psychoanalysts, to lawyers dealing with the topic and to a general public simply interested in these fundamental themes.

In the later stages of gestation, fetal functions undergo increasing change and development, preparing the fetus for the transition to its postnatal environment. Rapid maturation is witnessed in breathing, swallowing, sensory functions, sleep, and many other processes, with corresponding behavioral changes. By 35 to 40 weeks of gestation, fetuses are capable of living ex utero without support, but it is increasingly appreciated that even infants born at between 35 and 36 weeks can suffer long-term consequences. This book, which complements the author's previous volume on development of normal fetal movements during the first 25 weeks of gestation, discusses in detail the full range of behavioral phenomena observed during the final 15 weeks of gestation, with careful analysis of their mutual relationships. A key feature is the outstanding photographic material, difficult to obtain at this late stage, and the instructive graphs that are also included. The information provided will alert clinicians to deviations from the norm and to physiologic phenomena that can turn pathologic in infants born prematurely.