Pregnant women do to have smarter kids
TAKING all the studies and researches, let’s enumerate some of the practical ways that conceiving mothers can do for the growth and development of their unborn geniuses.
A recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that women who took FOLIC ACID from four weeks prior to conception until eight weeks into pregnancy had a 40% lower risk of giving birth to a child with autism. To get more folic acid, eat lentils and leafy greens. OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS produce neurons or the nerves in the brain that fire electrical impulses and send messages to the rest of the body. A common source of Omega 3 is fish oil. IRON helps promote the growth of healthy red blood cells that carry oxygen to the baby’s brain. Tofu, soybeans and many seafood provide iron not only for the baby but also for the mother.
Lise Eliot, Ph.D., the author of What’s Going On in There? How the Brain and Mind Develop in the First Five Years of Life, mentioned that either too much or too little thyroid hormone in the mother’s blood can be harmful to the unborn. Studies have linked low levels of thyroid hormone to subtle IQ deficits later in childhood. To help keep the thyroid gland at its normal, experts recommend that pregnant women should take enough iodine every day. Iodine can be found in sea vegetables, baked potato, boiled eggs, banana, tuna fish, yogurt, milk, iodized salt and more.
A mother experiencing negative emotions can pass these to her unborn. Exercise does not only help get rid of negative energies but also stretches the muscles and increase the stamina that the mother need for labor and delivery. According to the study in the Journal of the American College of Sports Medicine, children of mothers who exercised during pregnancy scored higher on tests of language skills and intelligence at age 5 compared to the children of sedentary mothers. This is because of the moderate levels of cortisol. Cortisol is released when the body is under stress, hence why it is also called the ‘stress hormone’. Moderate cortisol aid in the development of the baby’s brain and his or her major organs. Experts recommend a daily dose of 30minute-exercise for pregnant women.
According to Nestle Baby and Me, the nicotine in Cigarettes could narrow the veins of the mother including the umbilical cord consequently constraining the flow of oxygen to the baby. Both active and passive smoking (being around those who smoke) should be avoided. All that the mother eats or drinks cross the placenta, the baby’s main bloodstream. Alcohol can leave long term effects to the baby like learning disorder and the malformation of the heart and other organs. For men, Illegal Drugs could affect the sperm count. For pregnant women who are addicted to illegal drugs, they pass the addiction to their unborn baby. Upon birth, the baby would face drug withdrawal syndrome causing stress for him or her. Other effects of illegal drugs could be premature baby, birth defects, learning disabilities, sudden infant death syndrome, increased risk of infection and retarded growth.
Talk, sing, read to the baby or play music for him or her. Parents advisor Harold Koplewicz, M.D., president of the Child Mind Institute, in New York City, suggests that mothers should talk to their baby even while still in the womb to form an intimate relationship early on. According to research and studies, babies in the womb can hear and respond to sounds; they may also recognize rhythms that they heard in utero. Therefore, it’s never too early for a baby to read or listen to music. The right sounds can aid in the proper IQ and EQ development of the baby.
Someone once said that genes is just 30% but the lifestyle you expose your child to will greatly determine what he or she will become in the future – his or her health, mindset and behavior and how he/she will fare as a parent someday. Freda B. Dayog