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Music accomplishes an unusual feat in his latest book, Womb Life, in that he has created a self-help guide for all pregnant mothers and those who support them, whilst also writing a textbook for any professionals who encounter women in this moment in their lives. One should not be surprised at this, as his previous books all demonstrate his capacity to present complex research evidence and theoretical concepts in accessible and compassionate ways that elucidate and contextualize the topic he addresses. In his ability to synthesize such material into a coherent and moving narrative, I see Music as a pioneer and a trailblazer. In Womb Life, Music holds a delicate line between acknowledgement of the potential impact of adversity on the growing foetus and the need to hold space for parents without blame or shame.
In reading this book I often found Winnicott's famous quotation was in my mind:
There is no such thing as a baby, there is a baby and someone. (1966).
What Music subtly emphasizes throughout is we need to hold in our minds that there is, if all is well, a foetus, a mother, a partner, a support network, and a community. So, many “someones” in an ideal world.
Using psychoanalytic concepts (although rarely naming them as such), neurobiological ideas, attachment theories and other areas of research as well as bringing an intercultural lens throughout, Music writes with his inimitable style of empathy, humour, warmth and generosity. He uses vignettes and quotations from mothers and those who support them to emphasize the complexity in perinatal mental and physical health for mother and foetus.
As a psychoanalyst who works with complex trauma, I have already placed a copy of this book into our service's lending library for patients and see it as a text that provides vital psychoeducation that is such an important aspect of empowerment in trauma-informed care. This is also testament to Music's message intertwined throughout the book that maternal blame, shame, and guilt h