Christopher Coe’s TEDx talk titled, “Peeking prenatal”

Christopher Coe’s TEDx talk titled, “Peeking prenatal”

Christopher Coe’s TEDx talk titled, “Peeking prenatal” suggests that a mother’s health and wellness during pregnancy determines the health outcome of the baby as well. Coe believes that the prenatal period is the most important, and it can be used to forecast and improve the health and nutrition outcomes of the unborn child.

In support of his argument, Coe mentions that the reason as to why babies have different characteristics after birth is since they are also differently programmed during the prenatal stage. Toddlers are born weighing different, express different temperament, and anxiety levels as well as are susceptible or fall ill to various infections differently. All these factors depend on the health, wellness, comfort and nutrition of the mother while she was pregnant with the toddler.

The Barker hypothesis, as presented in the talk, suggests that a thrifty phenotype toddler is one who is born with evolved characteristics and features to thrive in the new environment with similar conditions and resources while in the womb. Hence, a baby born while underweight is likely to result from its deprivation of nutrients during the prenatal stage, which is often the case in underprivileged societies. Such a baby is born underweight as its body is already programmed to match scarce consumption and intake.

With this in mind, Coe states it is best to provide mothers with a suitable environment during pregnancy. During pregnancy, mothers require to consume meals and diets that are rich in nutrients and maintain the good health of their bodies generally. Also, mothers ought to be less stressful or involve in activities that lead to stress or any mental pressure as it impacts the fetus as well.

Cindy Carrazana Medina, your post on the video you discuss on is enlightening. Indeed it is true that a baby can react to different stimuli while in the womb. Playing music and talking to the unborn baby is not only calming to the pregnant mother during the challenging period, but it also enhances a child’s process of learning phrases while growing up. Exposing a fetus to the right kind of stimuli then is essential if one wishes to improve their baby’s intelligence. Pregnant mothers hence need to identify the appropriate activities they can carry out to stimulate the baby’s intelligence.

Hello Isaida Rivas, your response to the topic is indeed educative. I agree that transforming to adulthood results in losing essential skills that one had while younger. Key among these, as you mention and the video points out as well, is the ability to direct attention to only one task at a time. Multitasking is indeed a norm in an adult’s life and a challenge to avoid. The background information on the speaker, Larayne Gidwell, regarding her works and her positive influence in child development that you mention invokes one to learn more about her discussions and ideas.