Apparent Telepathy Between Babies and Nursing Mothers: A Survey
📄 Original study📌 Appears in:
Plain English Summary
Have you ever heard a mother say she just knew her baby needed her? Rupert Sheldrake surveyed 100 moms to find out how common this really is. A striking 62% had experienced their breast milk "letting down" (the body's automatic response to prepare for nursing) while away from their baby. Of those, about a quarter said the timing lined up with their baby actually needing them right then. Mothers who noticed these coincidences breastfed significantly longer -- over six months -- compared to those who didn't. Some women even sensed when their baby was in trouble from an accident while they were apart. The survey can't prove telepathy is real since memory can play tricks, but it makes a compelling case that the deep bond between mother and baby deserves a much closer scientific look.
Research Notes
Foundational documentation of maternal-infant telepathy claims, representing one of the most basic and emotionally compelling forms of psi. Part of Sheldrake's research program on unexplained connections in everyday life. Important for controversies about whether psi requires laboratory conditions vs. occurring naturally in close relationships. Survey methodology limits causal claims but establishes phenomenon warrants experimental investigation.
Survey of 100 mothers from the Active Birth Centre in North London examined claims of telepathic milk let-down when separated from their babies. 62% experienced let-down away from their infant; 16% of the total sample (26% of those experiencing let-down) reported it coincided with their baby needing them. Women who noticed coincidence breast-fed significantly longer (>6 months) than those who didn't (chi-squared=8.67, P<0.005). 31% reported other intuitive senses of baby's needs; 3 discovered their baby was in distress from accidents after feeling something was wrong. Results suggest emotional closeness may facilitate spontaneous telepathic connections, though self-report methodology cannot rule out selective memory or chance coincidence.
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📋 Cite this paper
Sheldrake, Rupert (2002). Apparent Telepathy Between Babies and Nursing Mothers: A Survey. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research.
@article{sheldrake_2002_telepathy_babies,
title = {Apparent Telepathy Between Babies and Nursing Mothers: A Survey},
author = {Sheldrake, Rupert},
year = {2002},
journal = {Journal of the Society for Psychical Research},
}