Parenting The Fetus

When it is revealed you are pregnant and you decide to have the baby, parenting begins. The fetus is now a family member, it is your child and requires your care. Parent it now.

The gentle suggestion: I recall a conversation I had with the Christian woman whom I was renting from. During the “I am pregnant” conversation she said be mindful of how you treat the baby. Gently, she asserted, even though the baby is in the womb your actions will distress it. I blew her off, I thought this old bitty doesn’t know what she is talking about. So, I made no attempt to contain my tearful negative reactions to my impregnated state. After all, I was living in the shame of single parenthood. What do I care about the fetus? I will cope with all that after it is born.

The consequence: Eventually, I gave birth and every time I was up rocking a never ending crying infant. Every time I dealt with an excessive “cry baby” toddler and child, I recalled what the old bitty said and realized that she was right. I regret not parenting my fetus. If you are pregnant don’t let this be your regret. Parent your fetus.

What does it mean to parent your fetus? Don’t wait for when you give birth to talk to your baby. The fetus response to conversation. Yes, the sound you make is discernible by your fetus. Talk to it, your loving caressing words will convey the love kisses that you would give to the baby as you hold it. In a conversation with a new mother, she told how her fetus would respond to the father’s voice when he was around. Play music and dance with the fetus. The fetus loves music, it is soothing. Many mothers talked about how much their fetus loved the classics, but one parent said her fetus loved calypso. It would kick when classical music played but was still when calypso was on. Laughter is said to be the best medical, the fetus loves it too. So, laugh frequently, smile as frequently as possible as you whisper sweet nothings to your fetus.

The fetus is what you eat: Monitor what you eat. The fetus feeds off your umbilical cord. Since, it is developing in stages what you eat will impact the fetus’ development. Your child’s immediate and future health is directly impacted by what you eat. If you intake a lot of sugar and carbohydrates, your child’s brain becomes under-developed. The human body requires lots of vitamins and nutrient to be sustained, grow and remain healthy, so does the fetus. So parent your fetus like you would the newborn baby, make it eat healthy by enacting healthy eating habits.

Read what the experts say about the fetus:

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

• The understanding of fetus development is ongoing.
• It is universally accepted that mother and environment affect the fetus.
• Nutrition can be detrimental to fetus’:1. Brain development 2. Physical development
• Regular exercise is good for fetus
• Emotional state of mother influences the fetus

Psychology Today

• Mother and fetus relationship is complicated
• New study of the fetus supports that the mother’s care of the fetus extents to the life of the child.
• The fetus is “attuned” to mother’s daily habits: when she sleeps, what she eats and many of her activities.
• “The fetus is already a learning organism," says Christopher Coe, a psychologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
• Mother’s nutrition will predict the child’s mental and physical development.
• Fetus when not appropriately cared for will institute mechanical defenses that will cause the brain and other organs to weaken.