A baby mouse in a tiny boat : in psychotherapy treatment can the experience of premature birth be considered significant in understanding the internal world of a child?

• Main Author: Sweeney, Lin
• Published: University of East London 2015
• Subjects: 616.89
• Online Access: https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.702107

This thesis discusses the potential impact a premature birth can have on a childʼs internal world. This was explored using a single case study of a girl who was born at 25 weeks gestation. There are ten sampled individual psychotherapy sessions and one initial meeting in order to research this question using grounded theory and thematic analysis. Themes that arose from this material, in connection with infant prematurity, include babies and growing up; incubators and hospitals; psychotherapy and play; animals, insect and reptiles; and finally the importance of the beginnings, endings and holiday breaks in the psychotherapy. The implications of the possible trauma of a premature birth for both the parents and the young girl are thought about in detail. My analysis of the material indicated that this had a profound effect on Poppy and her family. The question of whether Poppyʼs memory of her premature birth and early experiences were internalized by her at birth, or whether this was projected into her by her parents, concluded that it was likely to have been a combination of these two factors.