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?

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