Mother’s history during Pregnancy

This is the case of a one-year-old girl who had eczema. Since the child was so young and we could not engage in any verbal communication with her, we procured her history from her mother. We took into account the observations of the mother regarding the peculiar behaviour of her child. We also observed the child.

The peculiarities which the mother had noticed were as follows: The child needed to always be carried in a particular position. Even when she slept, she had to be in the same position. Other children of her age were comfortable being carried by others or moved around in strollers; however, when this child was put in a stroller, she would bend backwards, scream, and howl to be taken out of it. Even when she bathed, she could not stand by herself; thus, the mother had to hold and carry her all the time. The baby had to be carried in a particular cloth. When she was placed inside the cloth, the shape appeared like a hammock; the posture of the child inside it was the same posture as in the uterus. With this, the child felt safe inside; thus, the mother called it a second womb. The mother added that the child needed a lot of attention, made various movements, and expressed the wish to be looked at, but whenever any person went near her—even if her father approached—she would become scared. Only the mother’s closeness was okay. Since the child could not stand or walk and had to always be carried, she still seemed like a newborn child to the mother. If the mother exercised, the baby would be upset; if the mother was tired and lay down, the child would also become upset. The mother could not move her body according to her own will. The child’s point was that they had to lie down together. The child did noteven enjoy a piggyback ride. She was horribly scared of sounds, e.g., a toy chick imitating human noises, a blender sound, etc. She also disliked crowded places like trains. The mother also said that whenever the child was happy, she would jump with joy in her mother’s lap. She had done this since her first day as an infant. When she would see her brother in her mother’s lap, she wanted him to go away.

After she was weaned, she had herpes and her sickness began. Her mother revealed that whenever the child was in a bad condition, the child’s urine smelt. As well, she liked her ears to be touched. She also liked exploring the trash box, doing messy things, removing tissue paper from the tissue box, finding a wallet in her mother’s bag, (or even in another person’s bag.) Since nothing more came up that was striking, we inquired into the mother’s history, i.e., what mental, physical, and emotional changes had she observed during her pregnancy that were salient and not a usual part of her?

Mother’s history during Pregnancy (MHDP):

Here, the mother mentioned that she felt extremely happy and fulfilled. She felt that the empty hall was refilled, or as if the last piece had been put in place in a jigsaw puzzle. Overall, she felt complete and fulfilled with the baby. This completeness was like a round ball: smooth, with no ups and downs, and she described the round ball as artificial.

When asked about her dreams, she said that she vividly remembered one in which she saw that she had a baby boy, but it was born premature, very premature. It was the size of a palm, yet the baby could talk and was very smart, although it was premature. The child seemed alien. Having the small baby, the mother felt she was incomplete. She also felt guilty, because the baby couldn’t stay in her uterus for a long time. She felt a lot of tension and continuously prayed. She kept telling the baby, “Hold onto my body.” Because if the baby released its grasp, it meant that the baby would be born and her body had a strong tendency to expel it.

When I asked her about any cravings or aversions that she had developed during those nine months, she said that she hated sweets and preferred salty things like potato chips. She hated raw animal things like fish. She felt a resistance to eating animals or eggs, because eggs looked like babies to her. She felt that her own baby would be eaten if she ate a chicken’s baby. For her, an egg was a complete figure, wherein the baby was packed, nourished, and reborn. To the mother’s perception, the egg was complete, but fragile and easily broken, so it must be protected. Furthermore, the mother spontaneously expressed a thought that had been persistent throughout her pregnancy. The thought was that herbivorous animals have stronger vitality than carnivorous creatures. Herbivorous animals usually have easy deliveries. After delivery, human beings need rest, but herbivorous animals don’t rest because they have great stamina. The young ones stand as soon as they are born and, though enemies are everywhere, they can escape anytime. This feeling was very strong during pregnancy. Wild animals can cure themselves when they are sick. They don’t need support. Carnivorous creatures, however, need protection from human beings; otherwise, their number will be reduced. The number of herbivorous animals, however, never gets reduced. Herbivorous animals always have palpitations and throbbing hearts, because they are easily attacked by carnivorous animals.

Understanding of the Case:

High energy

Lack of attention

Sibling rivalry

Talk about herbivorous and carnivorous animals (in mother’s history)

All this pointed to the Animal kingdom.

Needed to be carried in a particular position always … could not stand by herself … the posture of the child inside the cloth was the same posture as in the uterus … the child felt safe inside … “a second womb”

Only the mother’s closeness was okay

Scared of sounds

Would jump with joy in her mother’s lap

Liked her ears to be touched

Further in MHDP:

Felt complete and fulfilled

This completeness was like a round ball: smooth, with no ups and downs, and she described this round ball as artificial

Dream of a premature baby born … palm-sized … could talk, but was immature … felt like an alien …

Told the baby, “Hold onto my body.”

Aversion to raw animal things

Resistance to eating animals and even eggs … eggs looked like babies to her

Egg … a complete figure wherein the baby was packed, nourished, and reborn … it was complete, but fragile and easily broken, so must be protected

Thoughts that herbivorous animals have stronger vitality than carnivorous creatures … they usually have easy deliveries

Herbivorous animals always have palpitations and throbbing hearts, because they are easily attacked by carnivorous animals

Those peculiarities formed the central core of the child and also constituted the central core of the remedy to be given.

In nature, all these peculiarities are seen in Marsupialia, the subkingdom of Mammals, to which kangaroos belong.

The principal feature distinguishing marsupials is the pouch, or marsupium, which gives the order its name. Marsupials are most famous for their means of birth. Rather than the mother carrying the offspring for full term, marsupials give birth to a very tiny baby early in the pregnancy. The baby crawls into a pouch or fold of skin where the tiny baby nurses, until it is mature enough to survive on its own. Kangaroos are browsing animals, feeding on grass and other vegetation. They happily graze alongside sheep or cattle, and farmers consider them pets.

The baby received the remedy, Lac macropus 1M (Kangaroo), and responded wonderfully to it.