Womb Guilt
We all know the advice:
A healthy weight gain during pregnancy is usually between 25 and 35 pounds (11 to 15 kg) a little less if the mother-to-be is overweight, a little more if she is underweight, double the recommendation if you’re a fashion model whose pre-pregnancy diet included tissues. For obese pregnant mothers, there are no-gain eating plans to be followed under close supervision of their doctors or midwives.
By now, you’ve probably seen at least one article about the study April’s issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. It’s the study that says women who gain weight toward the upper end of the healthy limit, may still put their children at risk for childhood obesity. The study compared the weight women gained during pregnancy to the weight of their 3 year-olds. Apparently, the study controls allowed for the influence of a mother’s unhealthy habits being passed to her child.
Now, I achieved the height of my scientific career in grade 6 when Jason Payne and I shared the science award at Victoria School in 1985, but I can’t imagine a scientific study with perameters wide-enough to eliminate all the results of an unhealthy home environment, especially on topics most people tend to underestimate (like, how many hours a week do you spend watching television versus how many hours of the day is your TV turned on).
And really, I would believe these study results.
If they told me that children can recognise the McDonald’s logo a little earlier than the age of two as previously believed. Maybe the ads are projected on the walls of the womb during interuptions in normal fetal development?
Tags: childhood-obesity, pregnancy, weight-gain-during-pregnancy
2 opinions for Womb Guilt
Maria
Apr 13, 2007 at 1:47 pm
I think that what you feed your child in their younger years and their activity level influences their obesity more than how much you gained during pregnancy.
kbaggott
Apr 13, 2007 at 5:09 pm
I think so too Maria.
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