The Answer Explained: Find out when various aspects of lifelong health are established.
When Does Health Begin?
Health begins long before pregnancy
A pregnant woman’s ability to supply her developing child’s nutritional needs is shaped, in large measure, by the adequacy of her own stores of fat, muscle, calcium, iron, folic acid, etc.1 Her stores are determined, in part, by her health, growth pattern, and nutrition starting from the time of her own conception.2
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Good nutrition and health over a lifetime are the best preparation for delivering healthy children! |
Health begins at conception
Around the time of conception, folic acid deficiency may lead to birth defects of the spine and brain, the most common of which is spina bifida.3 Taking daily folic acid supplements starting at least one month prior to conception prevents up to 70% of these defects.4
A recent study found that taking folic acid daily for one year prior to conception reduced severe premature birth by 70% and moderately severe premature birth by 50%.5
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Good nutrition helps prevent birth defects and prematurity. |
Health begins in early pregnancy
All body systems develop during the first eight weeks after conception6 — before many pregnant women are even aware that they are pregnant!
Undernutrition starting early in pregnancy tends to produce babies proportionally reduced in overall size and with internal organs containing fewer cells and altered function.7 These babies may be more prone to future disease8 and their internal organs may start to wear out before old age.9
Prenatal tobacco use reduces delivery of nutrients and oxygen (to mother and baby)10 throughout pregnancy and increases the child’s risk of obesity,11 type II diabetes,12 and lung disease.13
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Good nutrition slows the aging process. Avoiding tobacco promotes lifelong health! |
Health begins in middle and late pregnancy
Undernutrition later in pregnancy may selectively impair rapidly growing organs with significant long-term consequences.14
| Undernutrition of the: | May lead to future: |
|---|---|
| Kidneys | High blood pressure,*15 renal insufficiency16 |
| Muscles | Insulin resistance and type II diabetes,*17 sarcopenia18 |
| Liver | Hyperlipidemia,*19 abnormal clotting*20 |
| Pancreas | Impaired insulin production, type II diabetes*21 |
*Elevates risk of cardiovascular disease (heart attack, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease)
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Good nutrition helps prevent chronic disease. |
Health begins in infancy
Nutrition and growth during infancy help establish each individual’s lifetime risk of conditions such as type I diabetes22 and osteoporosis.23 It is best for most babies when well nourished mothers breastfeed exclusively for the first six months.24
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Good nutrition pays dividends for life! |
So, when does health begin?
Lifelong health begins long before pregnancy, during pregnancy, and during infancy.
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Footnotes
Bibliography
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