The main objective of this conference is to phrase new questions at a time when rapid technical and scientific advances are leading to a crossroads in the history of childbirth and the history of humanity. Our history is suddenly pushed towards two opposite directions. On the one hand the caesarean has become an easy and fast operation. On the other hand an accumulation of recent scientific data suggests that the perinatal period is critical for the development of the capacity to love.
According to plausible extrapolations, within some decades the majority of human beings will be born by the abdominal route. And in the case of vaginal births, the replacement of natural hormones with pharmacological substitutes will almost be the rule. Since the behavioural effects of hormones involved in childbirth have been recently clarified, we can interpret and summarise this new situation by claiming that human ingenuity has made “love hormones” useless in a highly critical period of reproductive life. This redundancy of love hormones occurs at the very time when humanity must invent radically new strategies for survival based on the development of all facets of love, including the respect for mother earth.
The participation of Prof. Michael Stark from Berlin - as the “father” of the simplified, fast and easy technique of caesarean, and as the founder of the “New European Surgical Academy” - will symbolise the ascendancy of technical advances.
The participation of Prof. Kerstin Uvnäs-Moberg, from Stockholm – as an expert in the behavioural effects of oxytocin – will symbolise the most significant recent scientific advances.
The participation of Anthony Costello, Professor of International Health at the London Institute of Child Health, will underline the need for questions raised at a global level.
The participation of Dr. Mario Merialdi, coordinator for maternal and perinatal health at WHO, will suggest the importance of “global action” as a new watchword.
The location of the conference in the middle of the ocean is a way to encourage participants to come from all continents.
The term “Primal Health Research” is used to favour long-term thinking. “Primal Health Research” is a developing branch of epidemiology that brings together studies exploring correlations between what happens during the “Primal period” (fetal life, perinatal period and year following birth) and what occurs later on in life in terms of health and personality traits. Such studies are compiled in the “Primal Health Research Database” (www.primalhealthresearch.com).
This conference is open to all health professionals interested in the future of humanity.