Children at birth: effects and implications.

The sexual attitudes and beliefs of 20 children who have been present at the labor and delivery of sibs and have observed the birth process are compared with 20 children who have not been present at delivery. The ages of these children ranged from 2 years to 14 years. Several of these children were observed at the actual delivery where naturalistic observations of delivery were carried out. Naturalistic observations of these processes were also carried out as well as observations of play of children who had witnessed the delivery with children who had not. The attitudes of the parents of children present at delivery were characterized and consisted of a feeling that birth was a normal family event of a positive nature that should involve other children of the family. Their children tended to have very accurate notions regarding the proverbial "Where do babies come from?" question and tended to view the birth in a positive, happy manner. Children not present found the idea of birth puzzling or inconceivable and did not seem to understand the concept or be able to relate it to their family. They tended to develop theories about birth that were inaccurate and sometimes fantastic, much as those described earlier by Freud. The results seem to suggest that children's presence at delivery permits an open attitude toward birth as a normal process in families in which this ideology is held and for girls aids in the development of their self-image as women. Preliminary data suggests less sibling rivalry among the children present at the delivery. These results are discussed in regard to current American birth practices.