What Not to do when Pregnant- The Importance of your Babies Environment
If any of you are familiar with the ‘Zeiteist' series by Peter Joseph, I was watching the latest one this weekend titled ‘Moving Forward'. In part one of this film, we are informed of the importance of a childs' environment while in utero and why this is such an important stage in the childs' development. An important read for any mom seeking what not to do when pregnant.??
This film used a great example to relay the effects of a babies environment while still in utero. You may recall a term based on events back in 1944 called "The Dutch Hunger Winter". During this time the Nazis occupied Holland and for several reasons decided to take all the food supply and divert it back to Germany for the length of three whole months. Now, if you were a 2nd or third term fetus during this time of starvation, your body was learning and processing information about its environment. To be a fetus starving at that time, your body becomes programmed to ever after store as much of its sugars and fats as possible for fear of starvation. In turn, those children are far more likely to have high blood pressure and be prone to obesity and/or metabolic syndrome. Stressed moms during pregnancy also have higher cortisone levels which when passed through to the child, may lead to higher chances of schizophrenia and addictive behaviors'.
It is the early experiences of a childs' environment that shape an adults behavior. Now, when looking at early experiences we are dealing with two different types of memory. Explicit Memory; which recalls facts and experiences. With this type of memory the hippocampus of the brain does not start to develop until 1.5 years and continues from there on so the recall from this memory can only go back as far as the first few years of its birth life. The second type of memory is the Implicit Memory; which is based on emotional impact and the interpretation the child makes of that impact. This memory is ingrained in the brain in the form of nerve circuits ready to fire but without a specific recall. An excellent example of this is adopted children. Children who are adopted tend to have a lifelong sense of rejection. They can't recall the emotional memory of what happened, or why they feel this way but the emotional memory of separation and rejection from their mother is deeply embedded in their brains. Therefore; they are much more likely to feel a sense of rejection and greater emotional upset when they perceive themselves as being rejected.
Virtually all hard-core addicts were significantly abused as children or suffered a severe emotional loss. There implicit or emotional memories are of a world that is unsafe, they find it difficult to trust caregivers or doctors who are trying to help them, they do not feel safe opening up in intimate relationships so they they tend to separate themselves and the deem the world unsafe. This is due to the implicit memory of which some incidents they may not even recall.
Please take care of yourself during your pregnancy. Remember that just because the child has not been born, does not mean that the effects of your environment and emotional state will not effect the development of your child.
Eat well, exercise and do your best to remain stress free.
This film used a great example to relay the effects of a babies environment while still in utero. You may recall a term based on events back in 1944 called "The Dutch Hunger Winter". During this time the Nazis occupied Holland and for several reasons decided to take all the food supply and divert it back to Germany for the length of three whole months. Now, if you were a 2nd or third term fetus during this time of starvation, your body was learning and processing information about its environment. To be a fetus starving at that time, your body becomes programmed to ever after store as much of its sugars and fats as possible for fear of starvation. In turn, those children are far more likely to have high blood pressure and be prone to obesity and/or metabolic syndrome. Stressed moms during pregnancy also have higher cortisone levels which when passed through to the child, may lead to higher chances of schizophrenia and addictive behaviors'.
It is the early experiences of a childs' environment that shape an adults behavior. Now, when looking at early experiences we are dealing with two different types of memory. Explicit Memory; which recalls facts and experiences. With this type of memory the hippocampus of the brain does not start to develop until 1.5 years and continues from there on so the recall from this memory can only go back as far as the first few years of its birth life. The second type of memory is the Implicit Memory; which is based on emotional impact and the interpretation the child makes of that impact. This memory is ingrained in the brain in the form of nerve circuits ready to fire but without a specific recall. An excellent example of this is adopted children. Children who are adopted tend to have a lifelong sense of rejection. They can't recall the emotional memory of what happened, or why they feel this way but the emotional memory of separation and rejection from their mother is deeply embedded in their brains. Therefore; they are much more likely to feel a sense of rejection and greater emotional upset when they perceive themselves as being rejected.
Virtually all hard-core addicts were significantly abused as children or suffered a severe emotional loss. There implicit or emotional memories are of a world that is unsafe, they find it difficult to trust caregivers or doctors who are trying to help them, they do not feel safe opening up in intimate relationships so they they tend to separate themselves and the deem the world unsafe. This is due to the implicit memory of which some incidents they may not even recall.
Please take care of yourself during your pregnancy. Remember that just because the child has not been born, does not mean that the effects of your environment and emotional state will not effect the development of your child.
Eat well, exercise and do your best to remain stress free.