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Violence can start in the womb Neglect, abuse can doom a baby, expert says By Susan Jay Every prison inmate, violent teenager and young killer have one thing in common: They were all babies. Robin Karr-Morse And for most of them, the seeds of violence were planted in the womb or in the first 24 months of life, says Portland author and family therapist Robin Karr-Morse. "Violence often begins in the womb and will be entrenched before preschool," Karr-Morse told nearly 400 child protective workers, foster parents and nurses, law enforcement officials, judges and social workers, teachers, principals and child development specialists in Medford Friday. Agencies sponsoring the Smullin Center event included state Services to Children and Families, Jackson County Public Safety Coordinating Council and Asante Domestic Violence program. The former director of parent training for the state's welfare system says her point is not to stop helping older troubled children, but to start before infancy. "We should not give up on any child who has been deprived, traumatized or abused," she said. Karr-Morse said she co-wrote the well-known "Ghosts from the Nursery" with Meredith W. Wiley "to put the face of the baby on the issue of violence." Too often, as in the Littleton, Colo., shooting, people look to adolescence, TV violence and access to guns for explanations. Each plays a role, but they don't explain the cause, she said. Growing and emerging brain research does. Her book focuses on extensive research linking fetal and infant brain development to violent behavior in children and adults. Emotional and physical neglect and abuse before the child is 2 significantly affects the brain's development of empathy, emotional control and cognitive skills -- traits key to preventing violence. A pregnant woman can severely damage her fetus' brain development by drinking, smoking, using drugs and neglecting other important factors such as nutrition. Karr-Morse said the brain can develop completely or not depending on the environment and stimulation. A human infant's brain weighs 25 percent of an adult brain. It grows to 90 percent by the time a baby is 2. That's why the first 24 months are so important, she said. The front part of the brain is responsible for empathy and emotional control. It responds to a care-giver's soothing, comforting and loving actions and emotions. When a baby doesn't receive that care and attention, those traits and abilities do not develop. The reason a child can stick a knife into a puppy and eat ice cream at the same time, Karr-Morse said, is because no key adult connected in a loving, consistent way with that child as an infant. She recommended Healthy Start as one proven way to stop children from becoming violent. The national program is offered in Jackson County and sends a nurse or trained home-visitor weekly to visit parents of newborns to 3-year-olds. Karr-Morse also recommended more developmentally appropriate preschools and extensive training for child care providers and parents. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA