Healthy Parents, Healthy Kids? Where do healthy kids really start?

This week I came across a depressing number of studies, all completely missing the point in their desire to improve the health of the next generation. I really wonder what rock these researchers have been hiding under when for example the Healthy Parents, Healthy Kids study is “recruiting women in their second trimester (14 - 25 weeks) of pregnancy, so that they can participate in the study from the beginning of their third trimester (week 26), through to 4 weeks after their babies are born.”

In the same breath and from the same article I learn of the "Barwon Infant Study (BIS) - a major birth cohort study being conducted by the Child Health Research Unit (CHRU) at Barwon Health in collaboration with the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) and Deakin University. The overarching objective of the BIS is to generate new knowledge on the best way to provide babies and children with a healthy start to life. More than 1000 pregnant women from the Barwon region of Victoria, Australia were recruited between 2010 – 2013, and their children are now part of the invaluable BIS cohort." 

Then there’s the “The Healthy Mothers, Healthy Families research program, which focuses on what can be done in pregnancy and the early postnatal period to improve maternal, newborn and child health outcomes.” 

Enough said - every one of these studies is closing the door after the horse has bolted! 

It’s a fact people! Excellent preconception diets (with robust supplementation), supported by toxicity and stress-free lifestyles (both his and hers), backed up by an excellent maternal diet during pregnancy, profoundly and positively impact the developing foetus and increase the likelihood that individual will live a life free of chronic degenerative disease. The effects carry across generations too! Conversely, poor preconception health (his and hers) and compromised pregnancy nutrient intake in addition to lifestyle and environmental toxicity contribute to poorer reproductive outcomes, increasing the chance of a child who will suffer a life-time of less than robust physical and mental health. Ditto for epigenetic effects. This is fact - not supposition!

So here’s an idea for researchers … how do we get the general population to listen up and take responsibility for the health of the next generation and generations beyond? Maybe we could start with a wellness-focused model of healthcare? Maybe we could reward practitioners for keeping their clients well, for keeping them out of the clinic and out of hospital? Maybe medical insurers could reward their members for never making a claim?  Wow, now there are some novel ideas! What would it take for scientists to get behind such novel ideas instead of constantly re-inventing the wheel (or in re-inventing just a part of the wheel in the case of the foregoing studies)?

I've been singing the preconception song for thirty five years, The Natural Way to Better Babies - Preconception Healthcare for Prospective Parents, my first book with Francesca Naish, just turned twenty (and it's still in print). As well as being a bible for hundreds of thousands of prospective parents, it's used as a reference tool by integrative practitioners around the world - maybe those researchers would like a copy? More on all of the above when you join my free webinar.