Our health, beginning from pre-conceiving, has a huge impact on the futures of our children and grandchildren.
The Transgenerational Impact of Maternal Diet
A plethora of evidence from animal studies conclude that maternal diet has transgenerational impact.
Transgenerational, in relation to these studies, refers to the impact of the mother’s health on the second generation (grandchildren) and further.
These studies included a wide range of maternal dietary interventions, such as low-protein diet, low calorie diet and obesogenic diets.
Maternal health at conception, during pregnancy, and in early infancy greatly influences her child’s risk of developing adult-onset disease.
What a mother eats during pregnancy interacts with her genes to affect her child’s likelihood for poor health outcomes, such as childhood obesity, pre-diabetes, allergies and asthma.
A meta-analysis of 18 studies, with 63,861 participants, revealed that the maternal diet impacts the neurodevelopment of the child.
Of course, the diet of the child from birth has significant impact as well.
What an infant eats can change their intestinal bacteria, which can further influence the development of poor health outcomes.
Simply put, maternal health impacts her child’s health, which impacts her child’s child’s (grandchild) health.
Why maternal health matters BEFORE conception:
After fertilization, the fertilized egg, now blastocyst, discovers and responds to the nutritional quality of the fallopian tube environment, even before implantation.
During this time, and throughout the first 10-12 weeks of gestation, nourishment of the developing baby is provided only by the fluid produced by the endometrial glands, found in the mucous membrane lining the uterus. There is no maternal bloodstream access to the baby until about 10-12 weeks of gestation.
After this time, the mother’s blood supply, delivered via the umbilical cord, takes over and the fluid produced by the glands of the endometrium dries up.
Maternal nutrition must be optimized BEFORE conception, so that the environment is ready to support early development of the baby AND placenta.
Maternal health influences the appropriate utilization, storage and conversion of nutrients to the placenta or baby, which eventually affects disease risk.
What develops in a baby’s first 10-12 weeks?
- Nervous system: brain, spinal cord, and nerves
- Heart
- Face: eyes, ears, eyelids, tongue, tooth buds, nasal passages, etc
- Arms and legs
- Sexual organs
- Muscles
From conception, the developing baby evaluates the nutritional environment available to it and adjusts its rate of growth accordingly.
At the same time, while the goal of the baby is to maximize its chances of successful development, the goal of the mother’s body is to maximize her long-term reproductive potential, even if it means sacrificing the current baby to do so.
This means that if nutrition is limited, the placenta may limit what is available to the baby, even if the mother receives supplementation.
Preconception health is key to a healthy mom, baby, and future babies.
This is why I always tell women who are considering conceiving to prepare for a life of sacrifice. Your sacrifice begins before the conception of your baby! It is not “my body, my choice”, but rather, your choices will impact the lives of many.
As women, we don’t give life.
God gives life.
But He also entrusts us to preserve this life- to carry, to nourish, and to nurture.
Our decisions will carry either blessing and life or consequences and hardships.
We sacrificially give up temporary, fleeting joys to produce a far greater reward.
This is God’s design.
It is not possible to live life irresponsibly without negatively impacting those around you.
But as we pour out into others, WE grow! Our humility grows US! When we make better choices for our children, WE also reap the benefits of our choices!
The hard choices you make right now will bring the results you will be grateful for in the future.
You can close your eyes and temporarily satisfy your heart with unhealthy choices, but you, your children, and your grandchildren will pay the price. And God will hold you accountable for it.
Or you can humbly learn to BE better and DO better, and by God’s grace, one day you’ll marvel at the beauty of the fruit of your choices.
Learn more about nourishment from my resources page.
