9 Months of fun

I enjoy reading-up on Health stuff, sometimes it's because it applies to me, and other time it's because...well, it's just interesting. I watch the History and Discovery channel for fun, you can call me a dork or just plain boring, and I won't argue with the first claim but I can't agree with that last one. Boring people do boring things...but I actually have fun when I dedicate an evening to watching a National Geographic special about babies and their development in the womb. I am also content with the fact that I have someone in my life who'll happily join me on these dorky cable TV adventures, and that person is Jose.

But there is something extra special about fetal development and all that goes on in the womb before the big eyes belonging to that cute little pudgy baby open up to get their first glimpse of an even bigger world. It'll be a long time before I know what it's like to hold my own delicious dough-like ball of cuteness, but I remember how cute and soft my brother was when he was still a baby.

They look pretty simple, actually: not much hair, tiny fingers and toes, toothless and tender, but these newborns are the finished products of a very long and complicated 9 month process. It's pretty amazing what goes on, at first all the mother can feel is usually that overwhelming pang of nausea brought about by morning sickness, then that wears off and the generally uncomfortable feeling develops and lingers long after the cravings kick-in. I remember what it was like...not entirely, though, never been there done that...not yet, remember! Got ya! I guess I should stop talking as if I actually know what I'm talking about, hu? But watching my mother, helping her out, noticing the changes in her behavior and appetite, it was something. Little did I know that there were so many complicated chemical reactions occurring and they were responsible for the changes. Oh yeah, and I'll never forget her odd cravings (actually, she went through a late-night cooking/eating phase...it was alright when she was obsessed with eating calamari and baking lemon cakes, but then she decided to make a gag-inducing banana meatloaf and it was all downhill from there! She actually got the recipe from a friend who wasn't even the least bit pregnant!).

Anyway, doctors emphasize the importance of taking pre-natal vitamins in order to ensure that the fetus has the proper nutrients it needs to develop, but you don't usually hear too many people talk about the negative implications of stress...at least on the fetus during pregnancy. Sure, it's been suggested that ulcers can develop as a result of stress, and that someone's life can be shortened as a result of spending too many sleepless nights worrying, but not until recently have the effects of stress on fetal development been depicted as serious issues by various people in the medical profession, from behavioral psychologists to perinatologists (oh, and I didn't even know what that was until I read this fancy article on medicinenet.com). Oh yeah, and National Geographic had a few things to say about it too, that's where I first heard about it: Mom gets stressed too often, baby develops in ways that'll help him adapt to that stress later on in life, then that increases his chance of developing diabetes, a learning disorder, or even anxiety issues in his own life.

Stress is inevitable but some of it is also avoidable. Of course, we all get stressed out about things we can't control, like getting sick during finals or getting rear-ended as a result of someone else driving too fast during unsafe, rainy conditions, but it's the things we can control that can actually cause us more long-term stress than the things we can't. We can control who we decide to marry and when we decide to have children; we choose what we put in our bodies, and I'm not just referring to drugs (legal and illegal) what we watch and read influences our habits, how we behave and think, in different but just as important ways. By the way, fetal development is very much affected by the father, not only the mom, so it's just as important for him to stay healthy and avoid ingesting anything toxic or harmful, like tobacco or alcohol, when he and his wife are planning on having kids. Even if you're in college, um...smoking pot more than the ever-so-popular "couple of times" now will destroy your sperm count, keep this in mind when/if you wanna have kids in the future. I'm sure you learned that in high school health, but it's likely that killing off all those brain cells has impaired your memory, among other things, and you forgot. Sarcasm aside, I am allowed to say this because my dad was a big time pothead in another time and I'm sure I would've been a lot smarter/healthier if he wasn't, and I'm sure he would've been too.

I've heard it said, and I agree: If people need a license to drive, they should have to get one before they become parents. I know, I've mentioned this to Jose and he's said what I'm sure you're thinking, this gets in the way of people's freedom, something with that ring to it. Then I have to ask myself ...Well, should people really be held completely responsible for making stupid decisions? When does nurture override nature? I guess this is where having a sense of morality comes in, you know, convictions. Some things are right, some things are definitely wrong and never gray, and I think hurting your child, or even fetus (to be politically correct), is always wrong. Even if stress seems unavoidable, there are ways of managing it.