We all possess some kind of sense awareness, a perception of objects and states of things by sensual means. Even a dumb, deaf and blind person still possesses proprioception (perceiving position and motion of one's limbs). Sense awareness does not include introspection because subject of introspection is supposed to be mental, unreal, states. Still, if mental states are a misnomer and really we are dealing with internal, physiological, states, then introspection should form an important part of sense awareness. Specialized organs mediate impact of external objects upon our senses and distinctive types of experience arise as a result of this mediation.

As early as end of third month of pregnancy, fetus moves, his heart beats, his head is enormous relative to his size. His size, though, is less than 3 cm. Ensconced in placenta, fetus is fed by substances transmitted through mother's blood vessels (he has no contact with her blood, though). The waste that he produces is carried away in same venue. The composition of mother's food and drink, what she inhales and injects – all are communicated to embryo. There is no clear relationship between sensory inputs during pregnancy and later life development. The levels of maternal hormones do effect baby's subsequent physical development but only to a negligible extent. Far more important is general state of health of mother, a trauma, or a disease of fetus. It seems that mother is less important to baby than romantics would have it – and cleverly so. A too strong attachment between mother and fetus would have adversely affected baby's chances of survival outside uterus. Thus, contrary to popular opinion, there is no evidence whatsoever that mother's emotional, cognitive, or attitudinal state effects fetus in any way. The baby is effected by viral infections, obstetric complications, by protein malnutrition and by mother's alcoholism. But these – at least in West – are rare conditions.

In first three months of pregnancy, central nervous system "explodes" both quantitatively and qualitatively. This process is called metaplasia. It is a delicate chain of events, greatly influenced by malnutrition and other kinds of abuse. But this vulnerability does not disappear until age of 6 years out of womb. There is a continuum between womb and world. The newborn is almost a very developed kernel of humanity. He is definitely capable of experiencing substantive dimensions of his own birth and subsequent metamorphoses. Neonates can immediately track colours – therefore, they must be immediately able to tell striking differences between dark, liquid placenta and colourful maternity ward. They go after certain light shapes and ignore others. Without accumulating any experience, these skills improve in first few days of life, which proves that they are inherent and not contingent (learned). They seek patterns selectively because they remember which pattern was cause of satisfaction in their very brief past. Their reactions to visual, auditory and tactile patterns are very predictable. Therefore, they must possess a MEMORY, however primitive.

But – even granted that babies can sense, remember and, perhaps emote – what is effect of multiple traumas they are exposed to in first few months of their lives?

We mentioned traumas of birth and of self-inflation (mental and physical). These are first links in a chain of traumas, which continues throughout first two years of baby's life. Perhaps most threatening and destabilizing is trauma of separation and individuation.

The baby's mother (or caregiver – rarely father, sometimes another woman) is his auxiliary ego. She is also world; a guarantor of livable (as opposed to unbearable) life, a (physiological or gestation) rhythm (=predictability), a physical presence and a social stimulus (an other).

To start with, delivery disrupts continuous physiological processes not only quantitatively but also qualitatively. The neonate has to breathe, to feed, to eliminate waste, to regulate his body temperature – new functions, which were previously performed by mother. This physiological catastrophe, this schism increases baby's dependence on mother. It is through this bonding that he learns to interact socially and to trust others. The baby's lack of ability to tell inside world from outside only makes matters worse. He "feels" that upheaval is contained in himself, that tumult is threatening to tear him apart, he experiences implosion rather than explosion. True, in absence of evaluative processes, quality of baby's experience will be different to ours. But this does not disqualify it as a PSYCHOLOGICAL process and does not extinguish subjective dimension of experience. If a psychological process lacks evaluative or analytic elements, this lack does not question its existence or its nature. Birth and subsequent few days must be a truly terrifying experience.

Another argument raised against trauma thesis is that there is no proof that cruelty, neglect, abuse, torture, or discomfort retard, in any way, development of child. A child – it is claimed – takes everything in stride and reacts "naturally" to his environment, however depraved and deprived.