BODY | MIND | SPIRIT | LIFE
I adjust pregnant women in my practice–babies too!
This is what it looks like adjusting an infant. That’s my daughter Violet in the video. She’s three months old. I’m just adjusting her thoracic spine in the vid. Slight distraction, that’s it–tiny pops, like bubble wrap.
I love my family, so I adjust them all. Wouldn’t have it any other way.
Severe stress during pregnancy may help cause schizophrenia. So says a study out New York University School of Medicine. According to researchers, severe stress–like wars, natural disasters, terrorism, or sudden bereavement–can lead to epigenetic changes, which are changes in gene expression, not changes to the DNA itself.
The study looked at data from 88,829 people born in Jerusalem from 1964 to 1976. They wanted to see if an increase in schizophrenia occurred in babies born to women during the height of the 1967 Arab-Israeli Six-Day War. What they found is astounding: babies born to mothers who were two months pregnant in June of 1967 were significantly more likely to develop schizophrenia. The height of bombing in Jerusalem was a three day period from June 5-7.
Females born during this period (January 1968 to be exact) were 4.2 times more likely to develop schizophrenia than the 1.1 % of the population which is the global norm. Males born during this period were 1.2 times more likely to develop the mental illness. Wow! Although the researchers didn’t rule out a genetic link–that is, the babies had a high family risk for developing schizophrenia–it is unlikely. While schizophrenia in the general population has some family ties, the majority of cases do not. So epigenetics seems to be the logical mechanism.
I find these results fascinating, because I’m a firm believer that we all have every gene, but it’s whether or not it’s expressed that counts. This would explain some seemingly random human variations, like gender identity disorders, psychopathy, and schizophrenia. And it makes complete sense that a strong connection exists between Mom’s experiences during gestation and how baby forms.
In epigenetics, as it is understood and discussed today, we are talking about a narrow form of gene expression, a once in a lifetime event. In other words, humans are not susceptible to environmentally induced genetic changes multiple times in their lifetime; major genetic variations occur during gestational development only. In the case of severe stress, the stress hormones can affect the placenta, ultimately changing the environment of the fetus, which then changes in response.
But wait! Don’t freak out, soon to be mom’s: we’re talking about severe stress here, not simply getting in a fight with baby’s daddy. I reported in an earlier post that this just isn’t the case, so unless you’re involved in a major trauma, you probably have nothing to worry about. But I think we will learn in the near future just how much severe stressors during pregnancy can affect the unborn child. Any thoughts?
Check out how incredible the human body is: Researchers have now uncovered how mothers deliver a hormonal burst to breastfeeding babies which triggers feelings of love and the baby’s trust that all of its needs are met. WOW! That’s simply incredible. The human body never ceases to amaze me.
Take a bite out of this tripper: When a baby breastfeeds, the suckling reflex triggers a hormonal cascade–large surges of the hormone oxytocin are released from mom’s brain–that provide baby with a sense of well-being. Science has known this, but what it didn’t know was how. The quandary was that the production of oxytocin from mother’s brain cells was just not enough to provide this response in baby alone, yet large surges in the hormone have been measured. Through computer simulation, however, researchers from China, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom found that the female brain recruits dendrites–whose normal job is to create communication channels between brain cells–into secreting the hormone. Mama mia! Now is there anybody who doesn’t find this as mind-blowing as I do?
The only thing I can say in my awe is that this is yet another example of Innate Intelligence working miraculous feats of living wonderment in what separates man from cadaver. This same Innate Intelligence know exactly which chemicals and neurotransmitters to secrete at all times, and frankly, I find it humbling. Whenever I come across man’s attempt to “improve” upon physiology through artificial means, I shake my head in contempt, simply because I know man can’t do it better than mother nature can–not now, not ever. But, sometimes, just understanding is enough. I bow down to the power of nature.
If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times, omega 3 fatty acids are absolutely essential to good health. They’re important for adults and they’re important for children, and darn it, they’re even necessary for developing babies brains–before birth. You heard me right, pregnant mamas need to supplement with omega 3 fatty acids right away, but especially during the later stages of pregnancy.
According to a new study published in the Journal of Pediatrics, expecting mothers who eat their fair share of omega 3 fatty acids (300 mg/day is recommended) can actually give their babies a brain-power boost. Concentrations of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) were measured in the blood of umbilical cords of newborns. The concentration in the cord blood was closely correlated to the concentration in the mother’s blood at the time of delivery. The babies were then given standard visual and memory tests at 6 months old, and the researchers found that the babies with the highest levels of DHA in their cord blood had the highest performance scores.
Omega 3s are found abundantly in fish like salmon and tuna, but also in fish liver oils, which are the most common form found in supplements. I personally take 6 capsules of omega 3s every day, and as I’ve disclosed in an earlier post, my blood panel–especially my cholesterol, HDLs, and HDL/total cholesterol ratio were stellar.
During the third trimester of pregnancy, when fetal brain development accelerates, omega 3s–most importantly DHA–are crucial to the growth and development of the brain and eyes. Unfortunately, western diets are notoriously deficient in omega 3 fatty acids.
But that doesn’t have to be you. Pick up a jar of omega 3 fatty acids today. I promise you, it’ll be one of the most powerful health habits you’ll ever do–guaranteed.
