Where we talk about what and how to eat to give baby’s mental health a fighting chance .
Many of my friends have started to have children and it has come with questions about what to do to help baby have good mental health. The refrains of “you’re a psychologist, what should we do?” have pushed me to write. So here is the skinny:
Mummy is the incubator.
That means that the environment in her womb has got to be as clean and full of nutrients as possible. Ideally, all this should have started when you were a young girl, eating the right food and so on but never fear, it is not too late! Before we talk about what you’re eating, let’s talk about how you’re feeling.
We all know that stress isn’t good for baby. A stressed-out mum will have higher levels of cortisol (a hormone released in response to stress) in her blood and this gets transferred to the baby through the placenta. What happens then? A stressed mum means a stressed baby and a stressed baby’s brain may develop a little slower than average. A stressed baby may also be more prone to anxiety-type disorders and other mental health issues later in life. The explanation for this is highly sciency and long but if you’d like to know the specifics, follow this link.
Now on to the diet! From the moment of conception, the baby depends on its mama for nutrition. Mum’s diet plays an important role in the development of the baby’s neural circuitry (the fuses and wires that send messages in the brain and from the brain to the rest of the body). The neural circuitry manages the child’s behaviour and has lasting effects on its quality of life! Like we said before, a mother’s diet and feeding patterns affects the baby directly and we’ve mentioned how hormones do this, a more physical observation is that when mummy is stressed she’s not going to pay attention to what she eats thus the baby’s diet is also bad. An extreme effect of bad diet is low birthweight, and the science people have found that low birthweight could lead to depression and depressive symptoms later in life. It is not a simple cause and effect link so don’t worry, many things could cause low birthweight, all you need to do as a mum is make sure that diet isn’t one of the causes.
We’ll cover some of the things you can and cannot eat in this piece, don’t worry, but before that it is particularly important to remember that timing is everything in pregnancy. This means that different parts of the baby are developing at different times, we call them critical periods. For example; did you know that major structural developments in the brain happen in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy? That means you’ve got to eat the right food in that time or we could have a problem. You don’t want to get lazy with the things that you eat at these critical periods because they may have long term effects. Again, don’t worry, you’ve just always got to maintain a highly nutritious diet, and all will be well. Also, don’t forget to involve your obstetrician, they can guide you.
First things first, the obvious, a pregnant woman needs protein, plenty of protein. Protein is important for brain size, the production of hormones and other kinds of chemical messengers in the brain called neurotransmitters. These hormones and neurotransmitters are particularly important for emotional regulation in the mummy as well. So, what should you eat? Animal proteins like beef, chicken, fish, eggs, milk are good sources of protein. If animals aren’t your bag or you would like to switch it up once in a while, you can also try chickpeas, nuts, wild rice, lentils, most beans, tofu, edamame, hemp seed, green peas and quinoa. The side benefit to these plant-based proteins is that they’re also rich in fibre!
I’m sure we’ve all heard of folate in relation to pregnancy. That’s cos its super important! On my personal scale, I’d put folates at the very top. What do they do? Your body uses folates to help in cell division and to produce DNA and other genetic material. If you don’t have enough folate in pregnancy, then the baby could develop neural tube defects and spinal bifida. In other words, baby needs folate to grow part of his brain circuits. To prevent neural tube defects, it is advised to take folates and folic acids before you get pregnant but because most people don’t know they’re going to get pregnant, FDA advises women to take up to 400mcg (microgram) of folic acid daily. You can find folic acid in orange juice, asparagus, brussels sprouts, most dark green leafy vegetables, beef liver, peanuts, black eyed peas, and kidney beans. If you’re not feeling any of these, might be a good idea to get folic acid supplements over the counter at any pharmacy or drug store
Magnesium is another important nutrient. At this point, I’m sure that you’re wondering if there are any unimportant ones; there aren’t but the ones I talk about here are crucial to good mental health. That good good brain food. Magnesium helps the baby in the activation of over 600 enzymes! With sufficient magnesium, baby becomes increasingly resistant to stress (doesn’t mean go ahead and indulge in stress inducing behaviour). Magnesium also affects mummy, low magnesium puts the mum at risk of preeclampsia, contractions and premature labour. All not good. Where can you find magnesium? In nuts, sun flower seeds, linseeds, beans, leafy greens (especially spinach) and whole grains. You can also find them in supplements but it’s a lot easier to eat them in food.
Not getting Iron at the right time in a baby’s development also has heavy consequences, but again, do not be afraid. Remember how we talked about critical periods in pregnancy? There’s a critical period in baby’s growth when the hippocampus is developing, at this time the baby needs a lot of iron. If baby has an inadequate supply of iron, it will lead to poor hippocampal function, poor recognition memory and poor toddler-mother interactions. But all is not lost! You can get your iron up by eating loads of leafy green vegetables (especially spinach), red meat, dried food, beans, and pumpkin seeds. Liver is also a good source of iron but doctors say you ought to avoid it when your pregnant.
Now we know what to eat to improve baby’s mental health, what kinds of food could do have some negative effects on mental health. Popularly citied are foods that are high in saturated fats (like ghee, fatty cuts of meat, etc), trans fats (fast food, fried food, frozen pizza, refrigerated dough, etc), and added sugars. Essentially don’t pig out on food that you wouldn’t normally pig out on in the name of pregnancy cravings. It will be worse for you and baby in the long run, and not just because of the increased risk of obesity for you both. Indulging in food rich in saturated fats, trans fats and added sugars could lead to impaired cognition, increased risk for depression and anxiety, and emotional disorders.
The take away from this is that you can eat a lot of the same food you normally would but it would be advisable to increase the iron, magnesium, folate and protein to a little bit higher than you’d normally eat and reduce the junk food to a once in a very long time indulgence (if you can’t cut it out entirely). If it’s still all too confusing, talk to a dietician, they can help!
Mind Matters 