WHAT IS NUTRITION IN THE WOMB?

Nutrition in the womb is the process that delivers to the fetus what it needs to grow and develop into a healthy baby. A fetus receives its nutrition from two sources. The first source of nutrients is from the mother’s diet before and during pregnancy. Most people understand this.

The fetus receives the nutrition it needs to grow not only from what the mother eats during pregnancy but from the mothers own body.

The least known and probably more important source of nutrients is the mother’s body. All bodies undergo a turnover process. Turnover is the ever-changing state of breakdown and renewal of muscle, fat and bone which releases protein, fat and calcium into the bloodstream. In a pregnant woman these nutrients are important sources of food for a growing baby. Mothers who have good turnover rates for themselves are able to provide well for their babies. A mother acquires her body composition and turnover throughout her whole lifetime as a fetus, child, girl, adolescent and adult. The mother’s turnover and her diet work in harmony to provide nutrition in the womb through the placenta.

The placenta, which is part of the baby that attaches it to the womb, captures nutrients from the mother’s blood and transports them to the baby. The growth of the placenta and the food it supplies are the key to health for a lifetime.

WHY IS NUTRITION IN THE WOMB IMPORTANT?

Coronary heart disease was rare one hundred years ago. Now it is the most common cause of death in the world. Diet, smoking, and lifestyles are blamed; but still we do not know why one person gets heart disease while another does not.

Young women who eat unvaried and monotonous diets are putting the future health of their children and grandchildren at risk.

New research has shown that poor nutrition in the womb changes the structure and function of the body for life, and makes people vulnerable to heart disease, diabetes and stroke. People who had low birth weight as full term babies have less healthy lives.

We are all aware that poor diets are bad for us. What is now known is that young women who are eating unbalanced and monotonous diets are endangering the long term health of their children and future generations. Coronary heart disease, diabetes, stroke and other diseases begin in the womb.

WHAT ARE WE DOING ABOUT IT?

The diets of mothers today are determining the health of future generations. The Barker Foundation is committed to spreading this message.