Location: São Paulo, SP.
Date: 07/27/2018
Time: 10:13 a.m.
My wife is part of the Pastoral of the Child, linked to the Catholic Church, founded by the late Dr. Zilda Arns, (sister of the late Archbishop emeritus, Dom Paulo Evaristo Arns), died in Haiti, in the face of an earthquake, some years ago.
Compulsion of the journal number 208, March 2,014, of the Pastoral, printed in Curitiba, state of Paraná, where it is the national headquarters of that Entity, which brings a spectacular story about the thousand (1000) days in the life of a child, called Dr.Barker's Theory, a famous English pediatrician, who now transcribes excerpts from the story that interests not only pregnant women but all parents and future ones as well. Follow the story below.
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"How can the first 1,000 days of life affect our health forever? In England, in 1989, a measured and researcher, Dr. David Barker, hypothesized that many diseases that appeared in adulthood were due to problems in gestation, especially what he called intrauterine malnutrition.
Dr. David Barker, along with his colleagues at the University of Southampton, found, for example, the relationship between child birth weight and life risk for heart and other diseases such as diabetes and hypertension.
It showed that the lower the weight of a baby at birth and during childhood, the greater the risk for coronary heart disease in later life. This has drawn the attention of the scientific community and society in general on the weight of babies at birth and on the type of feeding of pregnant women. Subsequent studies have shown that low birth weight is also associated with an increased risk of having hypertension, stroke, and type 2 diabetes later in life.
Barker's hypothesis was widely studied and supported and became a theory, the so-called Barker Theory. Today, it is also known that the risk of chronic disease in adulthood is even greater if a baby has low weight gain after birth, especially in the first 2 years of life.
For all this, the Pastoral da Criança, which fights for life in abundance for all children from the womb, decided to study and disseminate the Barker Theory, so that in our communities health services, leaderships and pregnant women become aware of the importance of healthy nutrition during pregnancy.
The leaders then began to guide pregnant women, both in the home life, on the Day of the Celebration of Life, in the Encounters of Pregnant women on how to have a healthy diet and how to contribute for the baby to be born with a suitable weight, starting with a pre -national quality. (my emphasis).
Why 1,000 days ?. The first 1,000 days of life is the period that needs a lot of attention to the health of the child, from the womb to the 2 years of life. The bill is simple: add the gestation period, 270 days and then 365 days for the first year and 365 days for the second year of life. Total: 1000 days life. "
PARKER THEORY: 270 + 365 + 365 = 1,000 days.
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A. BIGCUORE´S COMMENTARY: The work done by the Pastoral of the Child, linked to the Catholic Church, is the most RELEVANT in this country, so lacking in education.
The public power, unfortunately, does not educate anyone. It is also up to the civil society, Pastoral of the Child type, with the support of some companies that help financially so that it can develop this beautiful and humanitarian work.
I am not an educator, but I have 3 children and 4 grandchildren and I have always taught them the importance of good nutrition, especially in childhood. My children learned their lesson well. They do not take soda; eat whole grains; seeds type: flax, chia etc. They eat chestnut from Pará; nuts; Damascus; date, crain berry, etc. Anyway, they have a well balanced diet. They prioritize fruits instead of juice.
In addition, I have always given you good examples, especially regarding ethics and moral values. Thank God, I am reaping the fruits.
Going back to the case of pregnant women, the most important thing, I believe to be a well-done PRE-CHRIST these days! Modern pediatricians, knowing this, already prescribe a supplement of FOLIC ACID (vitamin B complex) for pregnant women, because this is very important in the formation of red blood cells and the formation of the brain and other organs of the child.
The biggest problem, according to my wife who is Pastoral Agent, is the wrong mentality and the laziness of certain mothers, who give (astonish!) Even soda for the children and the damn salty snacks !!!
Balanced food: rice, beans, meat, eggs, well-colored salad and natural fruit juice. This is the way of a healthy life in the future of these children. They will have, if so, be educated within this mentality, an ADULT BALANCED life !.
Our country needs educated, well-nourished people so that it can have a qualified workforce and, consequently, have less s psycho-social problems. Above all, to stop being an exporting country, only raw materials and we can have a competitive industry. It is a cultural issue. Unfortunately, our country does not give the importance that education deserves. It is urgent that we form good teachers so that they become good citizens who will lead this country in the future. All the teachings of Dr. Parker could very well be taught in public and private schools.
But, unfortunately, there is no POLITICAL WILL from our leaders to implement this great idea. The 1,000 days define what the child will be in all his life, from the point of view of his health!
(*) author is a writer and Communicator of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the whole planet. Access his BLOG BEM VIVER BRAZIL - antonibigcuore.blogspot.com and its poetic and philosophical link: www.recantodasletras.com.br/autores/antonibigcuore (self-knowledge, spirituality and healthy life).
