Studies have been conducted on the prenatal experience (EBP), one in which the person has clear memories of consciousness before birth. In most cases of SBP, the details of those memories can be verified through who was there at the time of birth, usually the mother as the main person. This article highlights some of the salient features of EBP based on information from three studies.

It is quite obvious that consciousness (the main aspect of consciousness) exists after life ends. This has been demonstrated time and again by near death experiences (NDE) when the consciousness leaves the body and is able to perceive worldly events without the aid of the five senses. The question of whether consciousness functions the same way before a person’s birth can be very absorbing for those who see meaning in the reincarnation paradigm. The author has come across three survey studies in this regard. A brief attempt is made here to share related findings. For more details, the reader is referred to the three books associated with the studies, all available on Amazon.com.

Study 1: Psychologist Dr. Helen Wambach wrote a book titled ‘Life before life‘in 1979. Explore the fascinating answers to probing questions posed to 750 hypnotized subjects about life before birth. Wambach says that 90% of his subjects blink in images from their past lives. She adds that “I am convinced that the time has come to rigorously study the plausibility of reincarnation.” Three of his questions to his subjects under hypnosis and the answers are as follows:

Question 1: Did you choose to be born?

81% of their subjects said that they chose to be born and that it was their decision. However, only 28% were excited to be alive again; they felt they had planned carefully and were ready to go.

Question 2: Why did you choose the 20th century?

About 59% gave relevant answers to this question. His answer contained many different reasons for the choice. Some felt that their choice of the specific time period was to have contact with particular people who chose the same time period. One response was: “I came in this time period to correct past mistakes and resolve my guilt about certain relationships.”

Question 3: Why are we here on earth?

Not all the subjects were clear about this item, but some gave interesting answers. Some of these people said that there is much to learn on this planet, especially in terms of relationship, love and humility, and that there are many experiences, good and bad, to go through. Others mentioned that learning can help move beyond fear and loneliness. Some indicated the need to be with people to compensate for the damage they had caused in previous lives.

The above samples represent a very small part of Wambach’s research. Her book contains much more fascinating information about prenatal memories.

Study 2: This work is also related to pre-birth awareness but not through regression, hypnosis, or drugs. Elizabeth and Neil Carman compiled a book on PBE through interviewees who recall their existence before birth while fully sober and awake. The title of the book is ‘Cosmic cradle, spiritual dimensions of life before birth‘. A report on the book says that it takes us beyond the conventional materialistic idea that heredity and social environment explain human life. On the contrary, the drama of our life is planned long before birth.

Where was your soul before you were born? If your soul is immortal, did it have a “life” before it was born? Did you choose your life and your parents? Is reincarnation real? Elizabeth and Neil Carman address these questions through interviews with adults and children. They also claim that Buddha pointed out four modes of human birth:

1. To enter the mother’s womb fully conscious, stay in the womb with full consciousness and experience birth consciously. The enlightened masters relate these memories.

2. To enter the mother’s womb fully conscious, stay in the womb with full consciousness, but lose consciousness during birth.

3. Entering the mother’s womb fully conscious, but losing consciousness in utero and during childbirth.

4. Entering the mother’s uterus unconsciously and remaining unconscious during the time of the uterus and birth. This heavily veiled memory is more typical of most human births.

The above interpretation of Buddha clearly points to the fact that pre-birth consciousness is a fact.

Study 3: This PMH Atwater study, primarily on near-death experiences, also touches on EBP. The title of your book is ‘The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Near Death Experiences’. She says that a third of the 277 experimenter children in her research base had clear and consistent memories of events before they were born. One particularly interesting study is the one presented below.

Two weeks before the birth of Carroll Gray of Atlanta, Georgia, the doctor informed his mother that there was no heartbeat and that the baby was dead. His father, who was eagerly awaiting a son, was very disappointed by this. He accused Carroll’s mother of having killed her son; he threw her out of her bed resulting in her uterus rupturing. The mother was rushed to the hospital and gave birth to a stillborn baby. But, like a miracle, the boy began to breathe! What was even more surprising was the fact that, after two and a half years, Carroll spoke the same words that his father said when throwing his wife out of bed. Obviously, everyone was dumbfounded as the family had never discussed that unfortunate incident with each other. In addition, Carroll also recalled the difficulties he went through as a newborn baby due to the unusual conditions of his birth.

Atwater says the stories with Carroll’s precision are so numerous that they challenge the notion that unborn babies are oblivious to anything outside of their mother’s womb.

In conclusion: For people interested in understanding life’s long journey through many incarnated and disembodied periods, the above studies can be invaluable as areas of spiritual exploration. Those studies broaden our perspectives on life and the afterlife. Our daily lives, guided by such far-reaching insights, can have depth and meaning that conventional belief systems can never achieve. Related matters are discussed on the website http://spirituality.yolasite.com