Andrew, please check out the site on perinatal psychology that I mentioned,
and the related research. There is a LOT of research by David Chamberlain
and others on babies' perceptions of what happens to them during birth and
the newborn period. Some other references on this subject are:

Karr-Morse, Robin and Meredith S. Wiley. Ghosts From The Nursery. New York:
The Atlantic Monthly Press, 1997.
Levine, Peter. Waking The Tiger: Healing Trauma. Berkeley, Ca: North
Atlantic Books, 1997.
Lorenz, Konrad. On Aggression. New York: Bantam, 1967
Magid K and Mckelvey C. High Risk. New York: Bantam, 1988.
Miller, Alice. For Your Own Good: Hidden Cruelty In Child-Rearing And The
Roots Of Violence. New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1984. Isbn
#0-374-51859-9
Miller, Alice. The Drama Of The Gifted Child. New York: Basic Books, 1979.
Miller, Alice. Thou Shalt Not Be Aware: Society's Betrayal Of The Child. New
York: Meridian Books, 1984.
Sapolski, Robert M. Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers. New York: W.H. Freeman And
Company, 1994
Chamberlain, David. The Mind of your Newborn Baby. Berkeley CA: North
Atlantic Books, 1998.
Hattori et al. Autistic and developmental disorders after general anesthetic
delivery. Lancet June 1991 337:1357-58
Jacobson B et al. Perinatal origin of adult self-destructive behavior.  Acta
Psychiatr. Scand. 1987: 76, 364-371.
Jacobson B, Bygdeman M. Obstetric care and proneness of offspring to suicide
as adults: case-control study. British Medical Journal 1998;317:1346-9.
Jacobson B, Nyberg K, et al.  Obstetric pain medication and eventual adult
amphetamine addiction in offspring. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand 67: 677-682,
1988.
Jacobson B, Nyberg K, et al.  Opiate addiction in adult offspring through
possible imprinting after obstetric treatment.  Br. Med J 1990; 301:
1067-1070.
Righard L and Alade, MO. Effect of delivery room routines on success of
first breast-feed.  Lancet 1990, vol. 336, 1105-07.

Salk, Lee. Relationship of maternal and perinatal conditions to eventual
adolescent suicide. Lancet March 1985; 624-627.


Linda J. Smith, BSE, FACCE, IBCLC
Bright Future Lactation Resource Centre
Dayton, OH USA
http://www.bflrc.com