Give Your Baby the Best Start In Life

You probably know that a mother’s health habits can dramatically affect her unborn baby’s growth and development.  If a mother smokes or drinks, so does the child in her womb.  But did you know that what goes on in your body, i.e. the chemical changes in your brain brought about by stress that regulate your heart beat, can influence how smart your child will be?
By 12 weeks after conception, your baby’s brain is carving mental circuits into patterns that will eventually allow Baby to see, hear, talk, etc.  That electrical activity takes place in response to the rhythms of your heart.  The steady thump, thump rhythm helps the neurons connect into logical patterns.  If electrical activity is interrupted by erratic fluctuations in your heart beat over a sustained period of time, parts of Baby’s brain may not develop properly.
Brain development accelerates after birth–producing trillions more connections than it can possibly use, then begins to eliminate connections for those that are unused.
Researcher J. Madeline Nash wrote in an article for a magazine.,“What wires a child’s brain, say neuroscientists,  ... is repeated experience.  Each time a baby tries to touch a tantalizing object..., tiny bursts of electricity shoot through the brain, knitting neurons into circuits as well-defined as those etched onto silicon chips.”
In other words, your baby needs repeated, consistent activities that stimulate the various centers of her brain.  Nowhere is this repeated experience more important than while she learns to talk.  Talking requires interaction with another human being.  If you prop your baby up in front of a television set or leave her alone for hours in a crib or playpen, the language centers of her brain will begin to wither.
Your baby needs interaction with you as you instinctively speak in that rhythmic, high-pitched style which researchers call “Parentese.”  Researchers at Stanford University say that Parentese accelerates the process of connecting words to objects they denote.
Watch your baby’s reaction to your tone and pitch.  If you say, “look at the puppy” or “see the teddy” in Parentese, your baby will respond more quickly and frequently than if you say the same thing in a normal tone of voice. You will also get a broad smile much more quickly when you greet her in Parentese.
Many scientists warn that when poor prenatal development is combined with a lack of nurturing after birth, babies simply won’t grow up to be normal.  Children warehoused in nurseries in war torn countries are the worst examples, but too many of the children in this country are deprived of loving attention.
Give your baby the best possible chance in life–take care of yourself during his prenatal development, so your nutrition is optimal and your heartbeat is steady and consistent.  Then talk to him, snuggle him, and teach him after he is born.
But don’t despair if you think you’ve made some mistakes.  It’s  never too late to be a better parent.  Most children adopted out of horrifying prenatal and early childhood experiences grow up just fine--a testament to the fact that kids need lots of love but they don’t need perfect parents.  You can’t change the past but you can direct the future.  You can reinforce your love for your child, seek help from your Higher Power, and do your best.