Genetically speaking, the actions a mother takes during the nine months of pregnancy effect the development of the baby. The foods you eat should contain high concentrations of vitamins in order to positively affect your baby’s health – but a new study shows that the vitamins can also develop healthy eating habits in children.
According to a study at the Monell Chemical Senses Centre in Philadelphia, eating green foods during your pregnancy can install similar eating habits within your children. Many children hate eating vegetables, but exposing them to healthier foods while they remain in the womb could get them used to the taste – and subsequently ensure they eat healthy.
“If they are repeatedly exposed to fruit and vegetables early on, then they soon begin to accept these foods,” says Dr Mennella, a developmental biologist at the centre.
The findings were discovered during a series of studies about the foods mothers ate during their months of pregnancy and breastfeeding. One study examined mothers who drank carrot juice during this time, of which their children ate three times more carrot-flavoured baby food than the children of women who didn’t eat carrots.
The study is meant to encourage women to incorporate vegetables and other healthy foods into their diets. The food is healthy, and it can make meal time much easier on parents as the children get older.