Making Sense of Pregnancy: What Experts Want you To Know About Your Body
Have you been surprised by what we do and don't know about pregnancy and birth today? If you are pregnant, or have been in the past, this show helps you understand what's happening (or has happened) to our bodies--both the short term and long term effects of this transformation. We explore the boundaries of our scientific grasp on the wildly complex processes of pregnancy and birth.
After my complicated pregnancies, I went looking for answers and have interviewed hundreds of experts about women's health in this transition.
Every Tuesday you'll hear:
- Scientists at the cutting edge who are trying to uncover how pregnancy and birth work and what happens when they don't work
- Information you could use to better understand your own body in pregnancy
- .A better sense of the limits of your responsibility for what's happening inside your body
- Listen to hear what you won't find on a blogpost or a book off the shelf.
Making Sense of Pregnancy: What Experts Want you To Know About Your Body
How the Uterine Environment Shapes the Baby's Long term Health
Today we are all about fetal programming. It's also known as the Barker Hypothesis or Fetal Origins of Health and Disease. This theory suggests that the uterine environment can impact not just immediate health for the baby, but long-term health as well.
The theory suggests that the nine month window of pregnancy is a particularly critical time in the body's development. It is when all organs are being formed and any physical or mental health issue for the mother that affects this sensitive environment of the uterus, leaves its mark on organ and system formation in the fetus.
For a pregnant woman, I feel like this theory might spark ambivalence. There's something hopeful in it because it suggests some indirect control over something as important as long-term health, and you're not entirely beholden to the genetics you're passing on. But at the same time, this theory also comes with a lot of responsibility for the pregnant person.
You may think I've already given up alcohol and sushi and cheese, and whatever your long list is while I'm sharing my body for nine months, not counting breastfeeding. Now, I'm also responsible for the baby's lifelong health. Let's dive into this topic and see what the state of the research is today.
Episode with Dr. Alison Paquette testing Barker Hypothesis issues: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-connection-between-the-womb-and/id1779600854?i=1000697820556
Today we are all about fetal programming. It's also known as the Barker Hypothesis or Fetal Origins of Health and Disease, which leads to the catchy acronym FOoHAD. You’re not gonna forget that one. This theory suggests that the uterine environment can impact not just immediate health for the baby, but long-term health as well.
The theory suggests that the nine month window of pregnancy is a particularly critical time in the body's development. It is when all organs are being formed and any physical or mental health issue for the mother that affects this sensitive environment of the uterus, leaves its mark on organ and system formation in the fetus.
For a pregnant woman, I feel like this theory might spark ambivalence. There's something hopeful in it because it suggests some indirect control over something [00:01:00] as important as long-term health, and you're not entirely beholden to the genetics you're passing on. But at the same time, this theory also comes with a lot of responsibility for the pregnant person.
You may think I've already given up alcohol and sushi and cheese, and whatever your long list is while I'm sharing my body for nine months, not counting breastfeeding. Now, I'm also responsible for the baby's lifelong health. Let's dive into this topic and see what the state of the research is today.