There is an increasing awareness that our health outcomes, or what we experience later in life with regard to health, may have been programmed into us by what happened while we were within our mother’s womb or during the first few years of our lives. Based on a recent review, there is strong evidence to support these principles.
Children born to Dutch women who were pregnant during the famine at the end of World War II, were smaller in size. In addition, an increased incidence of various adult-onset diseases, including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and renal dysfunction were also apparent in these children who were nutritionally deprived in utero.
This suggests that our mother’s general health and nutrition, periods of illness, stress, or other adversity, either before or during the gestational period, will affect our health.
Since early-life environmental impacts/exposures will lead to disease, and because the underlying molecular mechanisms responsible for these outcomes are not necessarily due to alterations in DNA sequence or mutations, using cancer as a bio-marker to assess these impacts is not valid.
It appears that the later-life health effects of these exposures are more often due to epigenetic mechanisms. Since this is an active field of research, and surrounded by controversy, it is very likely that it will take many years before regulatory guidelines are established.
So what can we do?
For mothers (and fathers), plan ahead, before having a baby. Your health and what you do will have a significant impact on your child’s development and future health. Avoid the well known causes for concern – poor nutrition, high stress environments, alcohol, smoking, drugs (including certain pharmaceuticals).
Find a supportive environment of family and friends, fellow mothers-to-be, and a workplace that recognizes both your healthcare needs and that of your baby. The benefits of peer support or a supportive community to support the mother-to-be during the pregnancy, and the mother and child during the first few months after birth, are immense.
Keep a diary for a year or two (at least) . It will help both you and your child understand what you were experiencing during those months and years.