EXPLORE THE IMPACTS
In-Utero/Preverbal Trauma
Early trauma, even before a child can speak or form conscious memories, leaves a profound imprint on both the brain and body. In-utero and preverbal experiences shape stress responses, emotional regulation, and behavioral patterns in ways that can be confusing and frustrating for caregivers. Understanding these early influences is critical for creating interventions that support healing rather than simply managing behaviors. This post explores how early trauma affects the brain, body, and behavior, and offers strategies to provide safety, regulation, and growth for those impacted.
Brain
Leaves Corticotropin-releasing hormone/Norepinephrine unopposed, which increases one's stress response, which in turn increases Glutamate and endorphin release that increases dissociation and numbing.
Decreased Serotonin & increased cortisol - Interferes with the dynamic of the amygdala and hippocampus.
Body
When someone experiences in-utero/preverbal trauma their empathy center, the part of the brain that should tell you what is human and what is not, is shut down.
Often in a visceral flashback one might experience:
Enuresis (wetting) or
Encopresis (soiling) Other bodily implications are swings in blood pressure, heart rate, and stomach acids stops processing food which results in gastrointestinal problems.
Behavioral Patterns
Powerful behavioral change that comes without warning often occurs. A person’s stress response can be frequently set off by boredom.
This can result in the person shutting down or being aggressive.
A person can have triggers or stress activation that results in hurting people, animals, or things they love.
Because the person has no conscious memories of this early trauma they may have an intense self-focus as a way of survival.
It is possible to focus aggression on youth the age they were when hurt, anyone weaker, the strongest person in the room OR the person they like best.
When under this amount of stress or activation the person cannot be reasoned with or learn from consequences. Threats or punitive measures will increase their shutdown or their violent response.
This person will not be connected with the present moment and will not be able to see how the future can be different than the past.
Fecal smearing, urinating in strange places often with little or no memory of it can occur and the person definitely cannot tell you "why" they did it.** **This is often infuriating to a caregiver, however, this emphasizes the importance of understanding one’s biography before designing supports and interventions so that healing can happen instead of crisis driving behavior mod plans that reinforce chaos and confusion.
Supports
Use interventions for decreased Gaba activity during the sympathetic flock, flee, fight response.
Use felt safety interventions once calm, especially the person in the mandala to identify stressful and calming feelings in the body and how to move from one to the other.
Develop routines that include sugar scrub (pg 40).
Help them use CARESS to calm themselves when they feel their body "winding up."
Zones of regulation, often used in schools, paired with calming activities can also be helpful.
Helpful supports will be found through sensory integration, movement interventions, being close to calm, safe people, physical activity followed by calming or sensory activities.