❓Babies start learning in the womb
What? When?
Learning? What learning? Just let them be kids! They’ll learn enough in school.
Traditionally learning has been associated with going to school or sitting on a desk with a teacher leading the class. But then came the game changer. Babies begin “learning” right from birth. In fact, a baby is either learning or sleeping.
Then the research evolved. A baby actually starts “learning” in the womb. Whaaaat?
Ready for another one? When a baby is born, they’ve already acquired knowledge about senses, language, food preferences, and emotions.
Why are some kids smarter? Why are some kids more “well behaved”? Why do some kids have more natural talents? It all starts in the womb! And evolves in the first 5 years.
A baby’s brain starts developing only a few weeks after conception, and certain maternal behaviors are proven to impact brain development - maternal nutrition, weight, infection, stress, and exercise.
Yes! The mother has first dibs on influencing a child’s brain!
During pregnancy, it’s normal to get inundated with the “Don’ts”. But sometimes, we might just miss the “Dos”
Don’t underestimate your baby. Babies are born smart! Babies only hours old are able to differentiate between sounds from their native language and a foreign language. A study indicates that babies begin absorbing language while still in the womb, earlier than previously thought. Sensory and brain mechanisms for hearing are developed at 30 weeks of gestational age, and this study shows that unborn babies listening to their mothers talk during the last 10 weeks of pregnancy and at birth can demonstrate what they’ve heard. So go ahead and talk (even read and sing) to your pregnant belly!
Babies also have a strong sense of smell and can detect the perfume you wear and the garlic you ate (because of the biological changes that take place during the third trimester). In fact, a newborn will actually prefer these smells, especially the smell of their own mother. This is also why experts recommend to not wash the baby with soap and water immediately after birth. The smell of the amniotic fluid actually calms the baby down and reminds them of the comfortable home they were in for the past nine months. This is also why skin-to-skin contact is known to calm both the mother and the child, and to also soothe newborns in pain.
Pregnant women love stroking their belly. It gets itchy out there! But did you know that babies experience the sense of touch long before they are born? When a pregnant woman rubs her belly, her fetus can feel the vibrations. In fact, in this study, fetuses displayed more arm, head, and mouth movements when the mother touched her abdomen compared to the mother’s voice.
Why do some babies love avocado as their first solid food and some babies hate it? Possibly because flavor preferences begin to be shaped long before one’s first taste of solid food. A study shows that when starting solids, babies prefer flavors they learned in the womb. Another study also shows that infants learn about the types of foods eaten by their mothers during pregnancy and lactation. This is the first way (but not the only way) in which culture-specific food preferences are likely initiated early in life.
You’ve probably heard the elders say, “Just be happy during pregnancy. No stress”. Guess what? It’s true, particularly for the second and last trimester of pregnancy. Anxiety, depression, and stress in pregnancy are risk factors for adverse outcomes for mothers and children. Anxiety in pregnancy is associated with shorter gestation and has adverse implications for fetal neurodevelopment and child outcomes. Chronic strain, exposure to racism, and depressive symptoms in mothers during pregnancy are associated with lower birth weight infants with consequences for infant development. A study also shows that children whose mothers experienced prenatal stress during the Quebec ice storm had lower verbal IQs and language development, even when the parents’ education, occupation, and income were taken into account. While prenatal stress and postpartum depression can alter the functioning of a baby’s stress-regulating genes, research finds that high levels of affectionate touch (stroking) can reverse the effect.
The newborn’s brain represents some 10 to 11 percent of the total body weight. Okay? Great! And? When you’re pregnant, you need to eat more food and eat the right foods (particularly folic acid, foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids such as fish low in mercury, and iron-rich foods). How much do you need to eat? Depends upon your weight going into pregnancy, if you’re having twins, and your BMI. For example, if you’re underweight, you should gain between 28-40lbs (view IOM guidelines). Want to guess how many women in the U.S gain weight above these recommendations? 48 percent.
Why is gaining weight within these recommendations important? Research shows that a mother’s BMI is associated to changes in two brain areas, the prefrontal cortex and anterior insula. These regions play a key role in decision-making, reasoning, language development, memory, emotions, behavior, and mental heath. Maternal BMI-related risk is thus associated with implications for a baby’s long-term cognitive development and mental health. For example, research finds that maternal and paternal obesity are each associated with specific delays in early childhood development such as fine motor and problem solving. There’s also a 264% increase in the odds of child obesity when mothers have obesity before conception.
Is it safe to exercise during pregnancy? Can I do squats? Can I swim? Which is the best exercise/s? Pregnancy is not a disease. Studies also show that maternal exercise during pregnancy can enhance learning and also reduce anxiety-like behavior in the offspring. However, there are certain Dos and Don'ts for exercising and your healthcare provider will guide you best.
Yes, buying baby stuff and decorating a nursery can be very exciting (or stressful). But remember, you are also the architect to your child’s developing brain.