Pre-Natal Impact

To which group do you belong?

“An infant born undernourished cannot compare with a healthy one. His head wobbles. His eyes are not coordinated. His eyelids may rarely open initially. His head may be covered with unsightly 'cradle cap' (a brownish scaly scalp).

He is not able to brace his feet, to ‘crawl’ in the crib, or to lift his head easily. His sucking reflexes may be so weak that he cannot nurse strongly enough to stimulate the normal flow of breast milk. In fact he may refuse to take the breast altogether. He tends to cry a lot and has an irritable disposition.” - An undernourished mother prepares the way for an undernourished baby and increases the risk of congenital defects.

“If nutrition has been adequate during pregnancy (and prior to conception), we can expect the following. We can expect your baby to be perfectly formed and free from physical defects. We can expect him to lift his head momentarily as if to see what he thinks of this world he has entered. We can expect his eyes to open wide and be coordinated. You need not be surprised if his tiny legs, held in the right position, will brace themselves and even give a mini jump at times. If you position him on his stomach in a crib / bassinet, he may even ‘crawl’ to the head of his bed. His skin will be clear and his scalp will be clean and attractive. His sucking reflexes will be amazingly strong and he will have no trouble taking the nipple.”

An adequate prenatal diet is very important. Many fine obstetricians are fully aware of its value and make every effort to keep their patients on adequate diets. Unfortunately other obstetricians have little interest in nutrition and believe that a 'well balanced diet' --- whatever that means --- supplies everything the expectant mother needs. Such doctors sometimes recommend inadequate diets which may actually produce illnesses in the mother and abnormalities in her infant.

There are thousands of conscientious women who are eager to do everything in their power to ensure that the child they carry will be healthy and intelligent. There are other women who eat as they please regardless of the effect upon themselves or their infants, although they may be able to afford the best food available (and / or supplements). If they are ill during pregnancy or their infants are defective in one way or another, such, they believe, are the accidents of nature.”

How sad……..and how tragic.

In separate studies conducted by doctors from the School of Public Health at Havard University (of 216 women) and physicians from the Department of Obstetrics at the University of Toronto Medical School (of 400 women), revealed the following results.
“Havard doctors point out: “It may be entirely possible that a woman may run an apparently satisfactorily clinical course (appear healthy during pregnancy), but if she is consuming an inadequate diet, the fetus will suffer.”

• “Contrary to general belief, difficult births are caused by poor nutrition and have little relation to the size of the baby.”
• “….when the mother’s diets had been particularly inadequate, 95% of the infants were found to be in extremely poor condition.

• “The group in extremely poor condition included infants who were stillborn, infants who died a few hours or days after birth (one died of bronchitis and another of broncho-pneumonia at 3 days old; mentally retarded babies; and infants with cleft palates, congenital heart defects and congenital cataracts. The group in poor condition included babies with such abnormalities as tumors, clubbed feet, crossed eyes and other eye abnormalities, and several infants suffering from thrush and skin infections. Of all the infants of the 400 women whose diets had been poor, only one was judged to be in excellent health and another in good condition.”

• In spite of the fact that babies in this group were smaller, labor was more difficult and the complications far more severe when women had eaten a poor diet.

• Tension and irritability, depression and uncontrollable weeping have all been produced in volunteers who have not followed adequate diets.

On the other hand….

• The women in the adequate diet group incurred no stillbirths, experienced easier labors and gave birth to significantly healthier babies.

• They also managed to avoid the conditions found in the poorer diet group.

• Those on an adequate diet breastfed their infants a lot longer; producing both quantity and quality in their breast milk.

It makes sense, doesn’t it, to avoid complications by supplying yourbody and your baby, with the nutrients they need.
However, it can be tricky trying to find ‘adequate’ nutrients in our typical ‘Western’ diet where so many foods are so highly processed that they no longer contain the nutrients we expect or take for granted. I will repeat, ‘they no longer contain the nutrients we expect.’ This is a key factor impacting on the health of us all.

In fact most of the fruit and vegetables we eat have less than half of the nutrients they used to have 50 or more years ago. I once read a Pharmacy magazine article that stated tomatoes were found to contain about one third of their appointed nutrients at this present time (2006). My first thought was ‘As if tomatoes are the only vegetable affected! Mother Nature just pointed to tomatoes and said “You miss out”.

When the soil has been leeched of nutrients over the decades and tainted with pollution from various sources, it stands to reason that all fruit and vegetables will be affected --- not just tomatoes.

The only way to be certain that you are receiving adequate nutrients is by taking good quality supplements and eating the best quality meat, fruit & vegetables possible. Look around you. The health industry is bursting at the seams and increasing. Hospitals (in Australia) are over crowded and doctors are over worked. Cancer affects one in every three people and is increasing, allergies are common place and the list of children with learning difficulties gets longer every year.

Why do we walk around in a bubble of complacency until some affliction catches up with us?

I would gently remind you, this is your body, your baby your and your responsibility! You don’t need a degree in nutrition. You just need to be informed --- armed with information.

My purpose is to provide you with necessary information using terms and examples that you can easily understand and follow. If you have not already done so read “My Story, My Purpose” on the Home page to clarify.

Quotes from ‘Let’s Have Healthy Children’ by Adelle Davis (Master of Science degree, Nutritionist), p 10-14.

Resources

Foods for Fussy Easters:

‘Deceptively Delicious’             
 by Jessica Seinfield  has great recipes for children who are fussy eaters.

‘The Cauliflower Conspiracy’ 
By Jo Fiedler another great book of meals for fussy eaters.

Protection against Cancer  

‘Unreasonable Risk’
By Dr. Samuel Epstein – head of the Cancer Prevention Coalition.  This is a ‘must read’ if you really want to be informed.  It reveals the conspiracy of manufacturers to keep us ignorant about what is in their products that contributes to the development of cancer.  How infants are exposed to these harmful elements while still in the womb.  A real eye opener.  

Spiritual & Emotional Health

‘Parenting: How to Raise Spiritually Healthy Kids’
By Bill Hybels – Parents who have experienced the emotional and spiritual damage from dysfunctional dynamics, abuse or divorce in their childhood and how to deal with these issues to avoid passing ‘the baton’ on to their children.  A Christian approach.

‘The Five Love Languages of Children’
By Gary Chapman – gives an excellent insight into the individual makeup of each child and how they perceive love.  In order for a child to feel loved a parent needs to be able to identify the child’s specific love ‘language’ and communicate it in this way.  Chapman has also written the same style of book for adult relationships.  A Very helpful tool for children & family relationships.

General Pregnancy & baby information

‘Conception, Pregnancy and Birth’ 
by Dr Miriam Stoppard is a wonderful and contemporary guide to pregnancy. It includes detailed information on the mother's and the baby's experience from fertilisation to the first weeks of life. The information is clear and well presented and includes some very good pictures.

'Super Baby'

by Sarah Brewer draws on new research to provide detailed information on boosting your baby's future potential before and after birth. Topics include how to eat for a super baby, vitamins and minerals for a super baby, stimulation with sounds, exercise for a super baby and much, much more. It really makes you aware of all the positive, yet simple things you can do to give your baby the best start.

‘Every Woman's Birth Rights’ 

Pat Thomas provides us with a challenging read in Every Woman's Birth Rights, a book which provides prospective mothers with information on how to make choices about pregnancy and childbirth from the woman's perspective. Good reading if you want a behind-the-scenes look at medical practitioners and their preferred birthing methods.

‘The Mask of Motherhood’ 

by Susan Maushart presents a new and interesting view of motherhood as it explores how mothering changes everything and why we pretend it doesn't. Very realistic about the pluses and minuses of motherhood - not for the faint hearted or those with a fairy tale view of motherhood, but on the other hand....!

‘Healthy Cooking’ 

Pick up Rosemary Stanton's Healthy Cooking if you want to know how to improve your diet. It provides important nutritional information and dietary guidelines and features dozens of healthy and delicious recipes based on eating a healthy and balanced diet.