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Did you mention that if ffood is restricted so that the mother does not gain weight during pregnancy, it predisposes the child to obesity?

Evvaholt @ 9:57 AM PST, Nov 19, 2007

It’s possible to clean the body before pregnancy. My baby became burdened with my mercury load and had headaches almost daily due to swelling of the brain. You can read the whole story on my website: www.ncdpro.com/detoxqueen. Babies need a clean body to grow in. Detoxify first , eat only organic food, use organic personal care products. No drugs. Children do not deserve to come into this world with an already polluted body and suffer. 95% of illness is due to toxins, not genetics. Healthy Mom, healthy baby. Fathers: help out at home! Stressed Mom = a lifetime of living with a stressed kid!

Detox Queen @ 9:39 PM PST, Nov 17, 2007

When my wife was pregnant of our first son, we see by ourselves that our son had reactions to situations happening around us. When we were near of certain type of people, my son reacted kicking her mother until we leave the place. We joked about it saying that our son was an A.C.M.E. detector of not so good people. I am absolutely sure that kids are very aware of the environment around their pregnant mothers, and I tried to keep my wife as free of stress as possible. It pays, our sons have been healthy and loving and part of it is quire sure because we took care of them from the moment we were aware that my wife was pregnant.

Modesto @ 7:28 AM PST, Nov 16, 2007

In response to the post about mercury (thimerosal preservative) in flu shots -- That is absolutely true, but pregnant women and young children can and should get flu shots without mercury. Flu shots in multi-dose vials are preserved with thimerosal, but the single-dose vials aren't. A lot of health care providers stock thimerosal-free vaccine for pregnant women and children, so you absolutely should ask. At Kaiser I was told they ONLY use thimerosal-free vaccines for pregnant women and children. If you are pregnant or have a young child, don't go to a flu shot clinic at a drug store; call your provider and ask how to get the safer shot.

Sarah @ 12:21 PM PST, Nov 15, 2007

I am facing job loss due to the writer's strike and at the same time my husband and I are trying to get pregnant--unfortunately, due to our ages, we can't really wait. So the timing is poor, and reading about how stress due to job loss can affect a child is so scary. However, who doesn't have stress these days? I guess it's how you deal with it. Now I'm going to stress out about not being stressed ;) On another note, the mercury in fish stuff makes my brain explode--I need a really good chart of good fish/bad fish for women, does anyone have one?

Kate @ 3:45 PM PST, Nov 14, 2007

I have switched to an all organic foods diet and don't eat canned tuna. This change occured over a few years and so was painless. I am now always surprised when I go into a Vons/Alberstons type gorcery and see the high prices for non organic foods. The price of organic foods has gotten so low it is only slightly more now. I just forgo things like lattes and eating out and spend it on organic food cooked at home instead. There really is no excuse---high quality good food should be a priority in anyones budget. Afterall you reall are what you eat. The food that you eat truly gets turned into YOU.

caliterra @ 2:48 PM PST, Nov 14, 2007

As many things in life, it seems to me that advice that is giving is often something that is later regretted. A missing piece to this puzzle to me is that all people are different. What may work well for some may "stress" others. Oh, and did it ever occur to Shari to explore the role of the father in this study? To see how supportive or non-supportive he may be? This too effects the whole term of a womans pregnancy. All these little things do end up adding to a whole bunch of things never thought of. Like most all I wish is to give birth to a healthy baby.

Chevelle @ 8:43 AM PST, Nov 14, 2007

This article would have been even more interesting if the writer had added the perspective of pregnant women who experience excessive anxiety because of all the new research (much of which isn't even confirmed and can only be classified as an "educated guess" right now). I gave birth to a very healthy son two years ago, but only after a 9 month struggle with anxiety about what I was eating, drinking, breathing and touching. That stress couldn't have been good for the fetus either. And that same type of anxiety often translates into post-partum depression.

Kirsten @ 5:20 AM PST, Nov 14, 2007

The following argument seems very wrong: "And a pregnant woman's emotional trauma from such events as job loss, divorce or the death of a loved one has been shown in several studies to increase the risk of birth defects and autism." Unless Shari can post the references to those studies. Thanks.

Andrew @ 2:44 AM PST, Nov 14, 2007

Responsible parents have the moral responsibility to promote healthy eating habits and physical activity as well as to protect their offspring from the negative effects tobacco and alcohol can have on their future lives. You do not want to program a child to become a future stroke victim.A devastating medical event that lives to kill and destroy quality of life. Fruits and vegetables will not place your rear end in a wheelchair. If you crave depression and isolation, please do become a stroke survivor. It will be an event that will haunt you for a very long time. Love your hearth with all your hearth.

Andre Seguin @ 2:43 AM PST, Nov 14, 2007

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