The Prenatal in Lacan's Borromean Knot.

Abstract

Otto Rank identified the trauma of birth and its psychological sequelae. Subsequently, the manifold observations made by pre- and perinatal natal psychology show that prenatal and birth experiences have a formative character for the individual. In the present article, we emphasize the relationship that might exist between Lacan's Real and the Prenatal. Both are characterized by the fact that there is no "symbolization," (i.e., there is neither the formation of imaginary nor symbolic thoughts). However, we propose that the unborn develops a consciousness that takes in the effects of the real. This consciousness is called "phenomenal." Emphasizing the dynamic between the phenomenal and the real, the effect of the Real on the phenomenal could be called the "phenoreal." Later representations will be possible due to the Freudian concept of "afterwardness," (i.e., due to the subsequent signification of the phenomenal by the imaginary and symbolic registers of knowledge). Pre- and perinatal psychology and Lacanian psychoanalysis will benefit both conceptually and clinically from this link between two related fields.