When Moms are anxious, babies feel that anxiety. Research has shown that a stressed Mom creates a stressed baby, causing the fetus' heart to beat faster. When levels of stress hormones are too high for extended periods of time, both Mom and the baby's mental and physical health suffer.

In 1973 Dr. Miles used natural childbirth with her son, Christopher Brett. She found Lamaze helpful, but after that pregnancy she wanted an even more stress free birth. She wanted less stress for both her and her child. Quickly, she realized the tremendous benefit listening with headphones to individually recorded, soothing music with a familiar voice would have. Here was a simple way to remind her to relax. When she was a bundle of nerves, there was an easy comfort with just the flip of a switch. Then, she could share, gently whispering, what she heard with her baby. To her surprise the relaxation practice brought deep calm not only to her, but to baby Brett, too.

With her initial personal success as a Mommy Whisperer, Dr. Miles studied and has used these relaxation techniques successfully for over 30 years with her clients and friends. After the stress of the pregnancy with her first child, a client of Dr. Miles used the Mommy Whisperer technique for her

Using simple relaxation strategies, parents actually affect the physical structure of the baby's developing brain. The patterns we learn, affect how we cope with stress and with life.

While soothing her baby, Mom is actually teaching her child to self-soothe. When you soothe your baby with whispers, they may develop a pattern of self-soothing that works under stress. And the opposite happens too. If Mom or anyone is loud and reactive under stress, the child develops that pattern and responds that way to stress. The brain loves the familiar, so how we train our children, becomes their coping strategy. So, whisper to your child, "I am so happy you are here." "I love you so much." "You are so beautiful." "Everything is okay." This gives them safety to learn and explore.

Copyright 2005 Linda Miles Ph.D

About the Author

Author, Dr. Linda Miles, is deeply committed to helping individuals and couples achieve rewarding relationships. She is an expert with a Doctorate in Counseling Psychology, and has worked in the mental health field for over thirty years. She has been interviewed extensively on radio, TV, and in newspapers and magazines. Find more relationship ideas and relaxation techniques on her web site and in the award-winning book she co-authored, The New M