Safe In The Arms Of love
Deepening the essential bond with your baby
Look Inside the Book
ABOUT THE BOOK & CD
Safe In The Arms Of Love is a scientifically designed and musically inspired product to forge a deep sense of connection and unconditional love between parent/caregiver and baby. Written by Lisa Rafel, Gary Malkin, and David Surrenda Ph.D., this award-winning book is only available in hard copy. We are actively seeking a grant to translate the book into Spanish. The music, (available as a CD included with the book), can be streamed and downloaded through all major distribution services.
What Research Taught Us About Bonding
Bonding influences a baby’s initial brain development. Yet, out of the four million babies born in the United States every year, many never experience a successful bonding relationship with their parents. This book supports having quality time for a successful bonding experience - the most important commitment a parent can make to support their child’s optimal physical and psychological development.
Click Here for Additional Research
Scientific Evidence (from Can you Hear Me Baby website)
The Music
Music is a powerful way to bypass thinking and take you into a direct experience that can influence your emotions and your physical well-being. The music of Safe in the Arms of Love includes songs sung by artists from different cultural backgrounds with musical interludes that provide parents intimate time to interact with their baby. The length of the music is timed for the length of a typical nursing experience and includes lulling music at the end to support putting the baby to sleep.
The Book
Beautifully illustrated, the book guides parents on how to use this resource to the best advantage and includes poems, instructions for use, and information about the power of music. It’s a perfect keepsake for parents and grandparents alike.
Therapeutic Impact
Tested and evaluated by parents of pre and perinatal infants as well as toddlers at a therapeutic pediatric facility, the results of the evaluations have been consistently enthusiastic. Positive Intention Music™ significantly enhances the depth of the bonding process. In a therapeutic setting, the music positively impacts a babies’ ability to regulate their breathing and calm down.
Safe In The Arms Of Love deepens heartfelt connection for both parent and baby, in the home, as well as in birthing/hospital settings
ENDORSEMENTS
“Safe in the Arms of Love is simply beautiful. These songs go right to the heart, allowing you to relax, open up, and find an oasis of calm in your daily routine. My wish would be for every pregnant and nursing mother to bathe herself and her baby in these heartwarming songs.”
CHRISTIANE NORTHRUP, MD
Author of Mother-Daughter Wisdom, The Wisdom Of Menopause and Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom
“Safe in the Arms of Love is an exceptional combination of beautiful music and inspiring information especially created to enhance the deep bond between parent and child. This thoughtful book and gentle resonance evoked by this music can help in the development of a secure attachment that will benefit the baby throughout his or her life."
MARSHALL KLAUS, MD &
PHYLLIS KLAUS, MFT, LMSW
Authors of Your Amazing Newborn, Bonding and The Doula Book
“Every child and mother should have this heartwarming music which offers valuable tools for enhancing the critical bonding and connection between mother and child. This bond is deeply healing. Safe in the Arms of Love gives parents clear heartfelt guidance that will help them reconnect with their baby every time they listen. Highly recommended!”
DEAN ORNISH, M.D.
Founder and President, Preventive Medicine Research Institute Clinical Professor of Medicine,
University of California, San Francisco
“When certain music is added to the chaotic newborn environment, it can become a “settling embrace”, bringing a calming message of hope and self-confidence. Safe in the Arms of Love fills the gap many new parents experience of not having their mothers to help and advise them during this important transition. As a new grandmother, if I were unable to be there for my son and his wife, I would hope that someone would put Safe in the Arms of Love into their hands. It is nothing short of magical”.
BETHANY HAYS M.D.
OBGYN and Functional Medicine
“As both a psychiatrist and mother, I can attest to the critical importance of healthy bonding. If you are a new parent, or about to be a new parent, drop everything and experience the beauty and impact of Safe in the Arms of Love. This is great music to support the bonding process and deepen the relationship between parents and newborn.”
HYLA CASS , M.D.
Author of Eight Weeks to Vibrant Health
“As a mother who nursed four children and being a therapeutic musician myself, I love the ebb and flow of this recording, and I can easily imagine a mom and baby being drawn ever more deeply into peaceful connection. I was deeply touched by the tenderness of Lisa Rafel’s songs and the expressiveness of the singers’ performances.”
MELINDA GARDINER, RN, CMP
Executive Director, Music for Healing and Transition Program, Inc
“Every once in a while, a new body of work comes along that jumps beyond what has been done before. Safe in the Arms of Love is a powerful, tender and heart-opening mix of songs and music that moves the parent and cradles the child. In my work with men, this music has become a valuable tool in connecting them to their experience as a father as well as to their own inner child.”
STEPHEN JOHNSON Ph.D.
Clinical Psychologist, Director, Los Angeles Men’s Center
“As every parent recognizes, there is an innate sense of rhythm in every child. The constantly varying rhythms of heart beat and breath, tuned to mom’s emotions, supply a rich, 24/7 symphony in the womb. To no one’s surprise, research has shown a powerful impact of music on mood and the physiology of the human heart. Listening to Safe in the Arms of Love, I am profoundly reminded of the importance of protecting the sacred bond between newborn and mother, and providing music to complement an experience that will influence the course of a lifetime. This music is beautiful, gently uplifting and peaceful, and perfectly sets the mood for mother and baby to bond in a relaxed and emotionally supportive environment.”
STEVEN F. HOROWITZ, M.D.
Chief of Cardiology, Stamford Hospital, and
Director of Integrative Cardiology, the Center for Health and Wellness
ADDITIONAL RESEARCH
Key Research Lessons:
Both nourishment and cuddly comfort are important for infants.
One of the most intriguing and visually arresting studies of attachment and connection between mothers and infants came from the provocative studies of Dr. Harry Harlow at the University of Wisconsin. Harlow studied infant rhesus monkeys and asked the question, was it just feeding that connected a baby to its mother or is comfort another important factor?
Harlow’s results were striking. It was very clear that infant monkeys value food and comfort. They conducted the study by depriving baby monkeys of contact with their mothers. They gave the infant monkeys the choice between just wire- framed “mothers” with food, or “terrycloth” mothers who provided a sense of contact and softness. The infant monkeys were drawn to not only the nourishment but the comfort as well. Cuddly contact proves to an important factor in the survival of the infant monkeys. Monkeys exposed to “terry cloth mothers” survived better than those who were nourished but received no comfort. It was also learned that those baby monkeys who separated from their parents were more likely to have difficult peer relationships and were less able to raise their own babies. These principles are believed to apply to humans as well. In summary, feeding is necessary but not sufficient to support your baby. Intimate snuggly connection time is critical for healthy growth of infants.
Securely attached children actively explore their world with positive enthusiasm And periodically check back with their parents in natural ways.
Mary Ainsworth, Ph.D. has conducted striking studies about how effectively children attach to their parents or caregivers. Ainsworth developed an experiment to see how babies reacted to their mother’s departure in what was perceived to be a stressful circumstance. They also observed what happens when there is a reconnection between parent and child. Called the "Strange Situation", this experiment became a recognized experimental process to assess a child’s connection to parents. Observations revealed great differences among children who were secure versus those who were not. A child that is secure showing greater adaptability and capacity to cope with issues in an unfamiliar situation. Security in a child is developed through the caregivers showing consistent awareness and responsiveness to an infant’s needs. A babies needs are continually shifting and parents who are able to adjust to those needs are likely to support the sense of security in their child.
There are multiple stages or opportunities to bond between parent and newborn.
John Kennell, M.D. and Marshall Klaus, M.D. explored the idea that there was a special period right after birth that enables a powerful physiological and psychological bond between parent and child. They suggested that a critical window existed for babies to attach to their parents. However, they also indicated that if the initial bonding did not occur right after birth, that a second window of opportunity occurred in the first trimester of a babies life. In other words, if a baby is compromised by health needs or other circumstances, there are additional chances to bond beyond those initial moments after being born.
Babies who hear music in utero do have a memory and preference for the music to which they were exposed.
Research studies over the past 25 years point to the power of sound as an influence on prenatal infants. Studies suggest that babies in the womb are sensitive, responsive, and learning oriented. These studies reveal the power of music to impact prenatal memory, responsiveness and health.
Memory and Preference
Newborns learn and remember their mother’s heartbeat and voice.
Newborns prefer the music they heard their mother sing while in utero rather than new material sung by their mother.
Babies “remember” music they heard in utero and preferred it to new music.
In utero infants prefer tempos that resemble their own heart beat.
Babies prefer hearing those stories, music, rhymes and poems heard initially in the womb.
Implications
As a parent, the sounds you make, your sonic environment and the sounds your baby hears in utero are vitally important and impact your baby.
Using sound to deliberately create the right environment is an important step in mindful parenting.
Music can be a great way to initiate the bonding process with your in utero baby.