Birth and the carbon series

The Carbon series is the second row of the periodic system of Elements.
It consists of the elements Lithium, Beryllium, Boron, Carbon, Nitrogenium, Oxygenium, Fluor and Neon.
These elements have as basic theme the development of the “I”, the ego or individual. Connected with this are the themes of worth and self-worth. Another theme is that of the body as carrier of the ego, with the protection and conservation of the body.

These elements represent a process going from left to right in the periodic table. It is the process of developing an ego, a personality. It starts with Lithium, the stage of the baby and goes further till the last stage in this development, Fluor, the separation from the parents.

The birth process turns out to be a reflection of this whole process of development. Or one can say a forecast, or a fore shadow of the process of developing an ego. A careful analysis of the birth process and the problems that arose there can lead to a good prescription, especially for children. But also in adults one can still find these themes being present.





One can also look at Hydrogen and Helium in this connection. These remedies are number 1 and 2 in the periodic system, coming before the Carbon series, with atomic numbers 3 till 10. Hydrogen and Helium represent the stages before birth.
Hydrogen is the stage of conception, the union of egg and sperm. The theme of union is typical for Hydrogen.
Helium is the stage of the fetus, floating happily and in a way unconsciously, in the water of the uterus. The fetus doesn’t have to do anything; all things are going by itself. It is a state of inactivity, typical for Stage 18 where helium is in.


Literature:
Scholten J., Homeopathy and the Elements, Utrecht, 1996, ISBN 9074817033.




1. Lithium: the start of the birth
Lithium represents the start of the birth, the first contractions. It is the announcement that the birth process is starting. When there are or have been problems in this stage, a lithium remedy can be indicated. It can be that the contractions stopped, or that they come intermittently without really progressing. Or it can be that the start of the birth is too early (premature) or too late (postmature).
Case
A girl, 3 years of age, becomes incontinent after a phase of being continent. She urinates in her bed and has stool in her diaper. She also has problems with food; her bread has to be cut in exactly the right way. Her mother has the idea that the cause could be from the fact that she has to go to another bigger group in kindergarten. She prefers to stay in her small group.
Her birth was three weeks too early. Her mother had felt that she wanted to be outside the uterus, she was pushing with her legs against the diaphragm. The labor was fast. The mother was very emotional for some weeks after the labor, she was not able to cope with the outside world.
The early birth and quick labor is a sign for Lithium, the first stage of labor.
After Lithium metallicum MK the girl quickly gained control over her urination and defecation. She can also handle the new kindergarten group.


2. Beryllium: engagement of the head
The second stage is the engagement of the head. The baby descends into the pelvis. The baby has to adapt to the decreasing space of the uterus due to the contractions. The themes of stage 2, wherein Beryllium is obvious: adapting, passivity.
Problems in this stage are those of positioning. They can be breech presentation, transverse position, occipital presentation, face presentation and the like.
Case
A girl eight years of age has eczema at the dorsal side of her wrists, hands and fingers. It itches severely, worse by touch and worse from warm food, especially after dinner at 6 pm. The itch is deep and better from cold water. She is very timid, she lets her mother give all the answers. She sits quietly on her chair and lets the eczema be examined quietly.
The labor was in an incomplete breech presentation. As a baby she was very small.
The breech presentation indicates Beryllium. The fact that she is very timid and adapts to examinations is also in accordance with Beryllium.
On Beryllium MK she reacts with two attacks of asthma and fever, as she had had before. After that she feels happier, her mood is better. Her clothes fit her better and are less a nuisance. She is more assertive. Her eczema disappears gradually.


3. Borium: dilatation of the cervix
The third stage is that of the dilatation of the cervix. The uterus opens before the real labor can start. In this stage there are contractions that press the opening of the uterus, but they are not yet the real labor contractions, which belong to the next stage of Carbon. In this stage normally the amniotic wall breaks and the amniotic water flows. When the dilation of the cervix is retarded it’s a good trick to break the waters.
The opening of the uterus leads to the loss of support from below for the baby. The bay looses ground below its heads or feet. This is reflected in one of the keynotes of Borium, the fear of downward motion.
The opening leads to direct contact with the outside world. Sounds are not modulated any more by the womb and the abdominal boundary and so they become sharp and harsh. This is reflected in the sensitivity for noise in Borium.
Case
A boy, six years of age, has eczema around his mouth, on his chin and lips. His breath is offensive, moldy and rotten, as from almonds. He is unsure. For instance he has a fear sliding down a slide or bicycling. He has an aversion to wild games like soccer. He prefers to play with girls. He does not want to play anymore with a boy that pushed him once. He has an aversion to loud noise, although he does not startle from it. On a station with a lot of trains he holds his hands on his ears. His mother had a cerclage (A band around the cervix) because she was operated on for a cervix carcinoma and the doctors feared that the cervix would not be strong enough to hold the baby in the uterus. The pregnancy was heavy and the baby was heavy to bear. The labor was difficult, the engagement of the head was late and the birth was done with a vacuum extraction. The mother feared to die and the fear of a too open cervix and the cerclage indicate Borium. The fear of downward motion and the fear of noise are typical for Borium. His timidity and he eczema around the mouth are also confirmations.
The first week after Borium MK he is irritated, weeps easily and cannot stand his sister and others. The first night after the remedy he wets his bed. After that week he becomes more cheerful and happy. After a month the eczema is gone by 75% and the offensive breath is almost gone.


4. Graphites: labor contractions
The fourth stage of labor are the real labor contractions, the heavy ones that have to expel the baby out of the uterus. It is the real “work”.
The problems in this stage can be that the contractions are too weak and cannot expel the baby. Or it can be that they are too strong, come too frequent and are too painful. All these are an indication of a carbon containing compound, or Graphites.
Case
A boy, seven years of age, has complaints of coughing arising from a tickling in his throat. It is worse around 7 pm. It started after he had been operated on for phimosis. He had a fear that he wouldn’t wake after the anesthesia. He also didn’t want to be born because then you have to die. His fear of death prevents him from going to bed alone in the evening, his mother has to stay with him continuously. His fear increased after the death of his grandfather.
He loves pancakes and soft baked eggs. His labor was Ok, except that his mother had a storm of contractions and lots of pain.
The storm of contractions indicates a carbon. The fear of death, the aggravation time of 7 pm, and the desire for pancakes and soft baked eggs fit carbon remedies.
After Graphites MK his fear of death disappear rapidly and he can stand being alone again. His cough disappears in a few weeks.


5. Nitrogen: expulsion
The fifth stage is that of the expulsion, going through the birth canal. It is a narrow passage and there is a fear that it will be difficult.
We see these symptoms also in the pictures of Nitrogen and its compounds: fear of narrow places and being locked in lifts, tunnels, grots and fear of having no exit.
Problems in this stage are that the passage is too narrow, like a deformity of the pelvis or a small mother. Or it can be that the baby is too big or its shoulder gets hooked behind the symphisis of the mother.
Case
A boy, eight years old, has skin problems. The skin of the soles of his feet and between his toes are pealing very much. It doesn’t itch and gives no other problems.
The replacement of his teeth is also troublesome; his old teeth don’t fall out, so the new ones cannot come in. The front teeth are double at the moment.
He has spectacles for reading at school. He doesn’t see sharply, especially with his left eye.
He has very good results at school because he strives hard and makes a competition of everything. Also, in sport he has to be the best and always win. If he loses a soccer game he is weepy and chagrin. He stopped playing tennis when he started losing his games because he was in a group with a higher level.
He is very fond of salami and hamburgers. One can wake him at any moment in the night for that.
His labor went very smoothly. It even went so fast that the doctor hadn’t arrived yet, so the nurse told the mother to hold the baby in by crossing her legs. After birth the baby had ecchymoses on his forehead, mostly on the left side. His mother thinks that the eye problems are caused by the birth trauma.
Being held in during labor is a blockage of the exit for the baby, typical for Nitrogen and its compounds. The desire to be the best and always win are also indications for Nitrogen, along with his desires for salami and hamburgers.
After Nitrogenium MK things are much better. The skin heels, the teeth are replaced easily and he sees better and can even do without spectacles. He can also tolerate losing.


6. Oxygen: respiration
The sixth stage is that of the first respiration.
If the baby doesn’t breathe well after birth and is blue for a while, we can think of Oxygenium and oxydes. There are also other remedies known for difficult respiration, like Laurocerasus and other hydrocyanic containing remedies. Hydrocyanic compounds block the hemoglobin so that oxygen cannot be carried anymore.
Case
A boy, six years age has molluskum on his cheeks, nostrils, inguinal region, thigh and heel. He also has abdomen pain around his umbilical region often after dinner. He sweats and grinds teeth during his sleep.
He wants to be big like his brother, more so since his younger sister has been born. With friends he has an expecting attitude. He wants to be chosen and doesn’t want to choose others out of fear to be rejected. He is easily dominated by other children and follows their orders. He was bullied for a while at school and in that period he started bedwetting.
Labor was fast, a bit too fast. After his birth he didn’t breath very well and was weak and blue.
The troubles with his respiration and being blue after birth indicate Oxygenium and oxydates. The expecting attitude also fits Stage 16, which contains Oxygenium.
After Oxygenium MK he became stronger and freer, he can say “no” to other children. He isn’t bullied anymore at school. The abdominal pains disappeared quickly. The molluskum were gone after a few months.


7. Fluor: loosening of umbilical cord and placenta
The seventh stage is the cutting of the umbical cord and the expulsion of the palcenta. It is the stage of breaking the bond with the mother. Breakng is an aspect of Stage 17 and "parent" is an aspect of the Carbon series, the child who needs a protector, a parent.
Problems with the umbilical cord can indicate a fluor compound. It can be that the cord is too short or is wound around the neck of the baby.
Problems with the placenta can also indicate fluor. It can be a retained placenta or a placenta that doesn’t function well leading to a dysmature baby (a baby that doesn’t grow enough the lasts months of the pregnancy).


8. Neon: neonates
Neon is in a way the last stage of the birth. Or, more exactly, is the stage after the birth, when all is over and one can take a rest. It is the stage of the newborn, the neonates lying quietly in his bed.
A problem can be the metabolism of bilirubin, which is difficult for the baby. When the bilirubin is too high, the baby becomes yellow and the brain will be toxified. This can expresses itself in a baby that is too quiet.
Case
A woman, 20 years of age is depressed. She feels burnt out and can weep all the time. It started after she had a bad period of many problems with her studies and fellow students. It started with the feeling that the theory of her study would not be a problem, but the practice of it would be a real problem. She weeps frequently, often without a reason. This is worse when she sees pitiful things on television or hears children’s music. She then has the association of a baby lying alone in his bed in a field outside.
After Neon MK she feels better in short time and is not depressed anymore. She doesn’t postpone her actions anymore, like making telephone calls to unknown people. After the Neon she had an ear discharging for a few days as she had had in the past.