Moms want healthy babies, but they also want their babies to be smart. For instance, some moms play classical music for their gestating crumb-crunchers in hopes of supercharging their little gray cells. Don’t throw out your Mozart CDs, but no one’s proven that one yet. What has been proven is that moms who want healthy and smart babies should first look to their own mental and physical well-being.
Here’s a round-up of healthy practices for future moms which studies have shown also boost babies’ brains:
1. Consume sufficient Omega 3 fatty acids for both you and your baby. These fatty acids are good for mom, and are essential for overall fetal development and eye development in particular. A good source is fish oil or oily fish.
2. Keep exercising while pregnant. Children born to moms who continued to follow a reasonable exercise program while pregnant had significantly better language skills and higher intelligence when tested at age five.
3. Make sure you get enough choline, which is found in beef, eggs, and dairy products. Get about 450 milligrams a day while pregnant, and 550 when lactating, because choline plays an essential role in the development of the area of the baby’s brain associated with learning and memory.
4. Head to the dentist and have your teeth cleaned. Periodontal disease in mothers can increase the risk of premature delivery or a low birth weight baby by seven times. And such babies are more at risk for delayed development or learning disabilities.
5. Don’t forget to take your vitamins, and get a daily supplement recommended by your doctor for pregnant moms. Vitamins are vital for keeping mom healthy, and a baby’s brain cannot grow to its full potential without all the essential nutrients.
6. Get a simple blood test to check your thyroid – children born to mothers with thyroid disease score seven points lower on IQ tests.
7. Don’t stress out – besides being bad for moms, it may restrict blood flow to the uterus, which may inhibit a developing baby’s brain growth. Stress in the mother may also interfere with the creation of brain synapses and neurons.
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