From way back when I was in graduate school until today I have advocated for good prenatal maternal health as it does help reduce premature births!

Being born prematurely is, in itself, the cause of many developmental problems through life.

But some politicians and other policy makers have always said:  Nope – no care for pregnant women – not on our dime!!  Which is an odd stance since prenatal care is less expensive than a newborn's intensive care. 

I will keep advocating for better health and better nutrition for everyone for the rest of my life – because I care about human development! 

And because these many many years later – we still have statistics like this:

The world's developed countries have seen their average rate of premature births double to 6 percent since 1995, despite efforts to reduce the phenomenon…

And the United States? Were we think we have superior health care? We rank 130th out of the 184 countries in the study!

What starts labor is still an unknown. What we do know is that keeping a fetus inside for the duration or a normal pregnancy – about 40 weeks is the best for the baby. 

As this study says:

The ultimate solution — keeping every baby in the womb for 40 weeks – is a challenge. Improving maternal health by treating high blood pressure and infections would help, as would changing obstetrical practices so labor is not induced early for non-medical reasons.

"We still don't know a lot about how to prevent preterm birth," Howson said. "We need vigorous, targeted research into its causes."

 

Thoughts? Comments? Thank you!

I've written a lot about obesity and why it is detrimental to your children.  [Some of these posts are listed below in the area for related posts.]

Here, I’m suggesting a few ways you can start better eating habits in your own family – starting with things you can control:

• your own kitchen
• your own food
• your own children

Keep healthy, more natural, food around the house. If there is no candy, no soda, and no sugar-laden cereal – the kids will not be eating it.

Get daily exercise – play with your kids – toss balls, chase each other, run around the house, apartment, yard or street, take walks together [especially easy if you have a dog.]

Limit the amount of time in front of the TV and have a rule of NO FOOD while watching TV. This is for the adults too – we tend to munch mindlessly when we watch TV.

Drink more water. Many times we think we are hungry but we are really in need of hydration from water. Skip the sodas completely – they don’t count as hydration! And they have not-so-good stuff in them [read the label] and they do not-so-good stuff to our bodies.

Cook with your kids. Cook up a storm with your kids one day a week and freezing the foods makes it very easy to have good, healthy and fast meals all week. Microwaves are good defrosters – but if you do not have one, take out the frozen meals in the morning and they will defrost by dinnertime.

Yes there may be more of a mess – but your kids will have had fun, be eating healthier foods – and you know what? have them help clean up the mess…that’s part of cooking too.

There is more info and more suggestions in my ebook: It's Not Always Baby Fat

I've written about parenting and about TV.

Here's a short post about all 3 topics.

Parents! You and the TV have an impact on what your child chooses to eat.

If you let your child know your opinion [and we hope it's to choose healthier food] your child is more likely to chose healthier food – even after seeing a TV ad for less healthy food.

BUT – if you are neutral – your child is more likely to choose the less healthy food.

Moral of the study? TV is powerful in influencing children's choices of foods – but – and this is important – parents – you have more clout than the TV if you give your  kids your own input.

So watch that TV with your kids and let them know what YOU think about the commercials.

Thoughts? Comments? Thank you.

I  finished and published an e-book on childhood obesity!

The title of the book is: It's Not Always Baby Fat!

Now  that one-year-old I wrote about, and I,  can go forth and get on with our other development

I am not a nutritionist. I am a Developmental Psychologist who, for all my professional life, has advocated for good nutrition – because I want all humans to develop as optimally as they can. And they do that best when they have good fuel [nutritious food] for their development!

This is especially true for the youngest among us who are at the start of a long process of developing – and who will ultimately become the adults of our culture.

In this book I give you information about obesity in general and about childhood obesity in particular – and let you know what this is doing to our children and to us as adults.

I write about food – what we eat, how much we eat, what’s in it and how to read labels so that you become a more intelligent consumer.

I add information about the importance of good nutrition for our development – especially cognitive development.

I offer suggestions to help you with your kids and family regarding weight and nutrition – all while doing things that may also encourage your child's cognitive development!

The book is available for Kindle and they have apps that you can download for free to read e-books on your computer or other device!

You don't need to own the Kindle!

I don't own one either device and still I write books for it

Get the book for Kindle

Here is the link for free Kindle apps

As I write much about nutrition, I have been asked: In terms of healthier children, what is the best time for a female to start eating well?

Answer: BEFORE you even consider getting pregnant! Preferably when still in your teens!

So – BIG OOPS!!  What happens if you did not? We all know teen diets outside the home are not usually nutritious and that adult women may not eat well either. 

What to do?

If getting pregnant is in your future – start eating well NOW!  Or as soon as you think you are pregnant – start getting good nutrition Immediately.

In the USA we have a long history of not taking care of pregnant women; especially poorer pregnant women – while knowing that good nutrition during pregnancy would help solve many of the problems that newborns come into the world with.

Decades ago I saw a film about the high costs associated with early prenatal care of infants born to malnourished mothers. Intensive care nurseries are very expensive – yet the cost of feeding a pregnant woman with good food is minimal. Over those decades, the cost of food has not risen to the levels of the costs for the newborn intensive care – so why do we still not feed pregnant women?  Answer: Politics…..[and that's for another day and another eBook or blog: http://lynnsrants.com]

A growing fetus needs protein – so the mother must eat that protein or the fetus does not get it. A long held myth is that babies will take what they need from the mother's body.  Not true. The mother needs to ingest the nourishment while she is pregnant or it is not there for the fetus.

Long term effects of poor nutrition during pregnancy are problematic births, delayed physical and cognitive growth and ongoing illnesses. This is worsened if the child continues to be malnourished after it is born. And malnourishment, while found more often in poorer homes, is not absent from homes of the wealthy.  Just having money does not create common sense!

What is good nourishment? Protein is important as is a balanced diet. Junk food is not nutritious for anyone! Diet sodas and chemically doctored food that supposedly tastes good is not nourishing….Prepackaged "stuff" [I dare not call it food] is not nourishing.

Look at the labels on the food you are buying next time you in a store. You might find words there that you cannot pronounce. One of my mantras is that if I can't read the small print or I can't even pronounce the name of the ingredient – I don't want it in my body…and I'm well past child bearing age