Do We Want To Program Our Babies In The Womb?

We want the best for our children, that’s a given, and it starts with the best health possible. We know how to provide that when a child is born, but what if we could start when they’re in the womb?

Fetal programming is a term for using medication to change the environment in the uterus in order to condition the baby for a healthier life, and the latest study into the area was sponsored by the UK government.

Researchers will give women a drug called Metformin, which as designed to to treat type 2 diabetes. The theory is that it will lower their blood sugar, which will lead to smaller babies at birth who “have metabolisms that don’t come out churning insulin and aren’t predisposed towards obesity.”

But what does this mean for the biological incubators mothers? It appears that the people who will be taking the medication, and potentially affected by these hormones for the rest of their lives, are not part of this equation.

While I think most parents would bend over backwards to give their kids the best start in life, my worry is that fetal programming will only ever affect the mother. There are already laws protecting the life of an unborn fetus, but what if they were extended to the health of that fetus?

Like parents must give their child appropriate medical treatment, it could be that mothers will be obligated to optimize their wombs. Sounds good in theory but in practice it could be a nightmare.

There is already a tendency to view a pregnant mother not as a person, but merely a person carrier. For those nine months her own needs are placed after her fetuses, affecting how she eats, drinks, sleep and even the emotional states she’s allowed to experience.

Medicine continues to separate the health of the mother from the health of the child, but for nine months they live in the same body. There are two lives to be considered here and the life of one is not more important that the life of the other.

Contact the author here: sedera@morningquickie.com