When you are planning for or expecting a baby it is definitely a time of wonder.
Wondering if the baby will be a boy or a girl, are they going to have mom’s eyes and dad’s nose, are they going to be funny, artistic, very logical, tender hearted, calm, an athlete, a singer, a dancer, the next genius, have all five fingers and toes, be our only baby, the beginning of a big family, or our last child.
The one answer that always seems the most common when asked “what kind of baby do you think you’ll have?” is “I just hope my baby is healthy!”
Think about this one simple answer for a second, “I just hope my baby is healthy”. This seems simple enough right? If we just go to the doctor’s office, do what we are told, make sure we take our prenatal vitamins and eat well then we are good to go! If only it were just that easy and simple as the answer itself, “I just hope my baby is healthy”. Who doesn’t want this for their baby!?
What is interesting is the majority of people just start to wonder and hope for their baby’s health WHILE they are expecting a baby to come within the next 9 months and give less attention to their baby’s health prior to conceiving. This may sound odd to the majority of us, thinking, “Why worry about my baby’s health now if I am not ready to start a family yet?” “Why start worrying about something that may or may not happen in the next few years?”
The reason why it’s worth considering your baby’s health prior to pregnancy is because this is the time you are building the foundation of your baby’s health that will lead into their health as adults. This is when you are taking care of YOU, making sure your health is where you want it to be and need it to be so that you too are living a full health quality life. It is hard enough making sure you are healthy not just for your own body but your baby’s developing body as well. If you are healthy before pregnancy it puts a little of that pressure off.
Recent research has shown that a man’s health and a woman’s health prior to making a baby have life lasting effects on your developing baby’s health into adulthood.
Wait a minute Erin, so your telling me that my choices today has an effect on my child’s life even 20 years from now? YES!!!
But how?! Well without getting too deep into the science (there will be plenty of that to come with these posts) let’s think about it. Our body is filled with teeny tiny little cells. These cells respond to our environment ranging from the food we eat, how active we are, amount and type of stress we have, the toxins we are exposed to (through the air, water, recreational drugs, foods, and beverages), and medications we take, and the amount of sleep we get. These are just the basics. Each and every one of us respond to our environments in a negative or positive way because of how our cells react and respond to the world it is meant to survive in.
If our own body is consistently adjusting to the world around it for optimal survival then why would it not do that when babies are being developed?
This is what sets the foundation for the world they are going to be born into. With this information their cells are working to develop a baby to survive in the world they are perceived to be born into. For this reason it is good to keep in mind that we must give an accurate perception for your little miracle.