There’s a GOOD side to throwing up every day??

I’m currently 15 weeks pregnant with my second child and the nausea with this pregnancy has been downright horrible.  I’ve been in and out of the hospital for dehydration and was finally given a Zofran pump that administers the drug directly into my body.  The pump has saved my life (and stopped the all day vomiting), which I am thankful for, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wondered “why would my baby do this to my body??”  It seems so unnatural that a pregnancy would make the mother so extremely sick as to require hospitalization and so much medication.  Well, then I opened up a fabulous new book last night called Brain Rules for Baby: How to Raise a Smart and Happy Child from Zero to Five and began reading.  It’s written by Dr. John Medina, a developmental molecular biologist, who shares what the latest science says about how to raise smart and happy children ages 0-5.  It bridges the gap between what scientists know and what parents practice.  So far I’m only two chapters in, but the read is FABULOUS!!


Here’s what excited me so much about my nausea! (pg 23):


One study, yet to be replicated, looked at children whose mothers suffered from major nausea and vomiting during pregnancy.  When the children reached school age, 21 percent scored 130 points or more on a standard IQ test (130 is considered gifted).  If their mothers had no morning sickness, only 7 percent of kids did that well.  The researchers have a theory – still to be proven – about why.  Two hormones that stimulate a woman to vomit may also act like neural fertilizer for the developing brain.  The more vomiting, the more fertilizer; hence, the greater effect on IQ.  Whatever the reasons, the baby seems to be going to great lengths to get you to leave it alone.



How good are we at leaving baby alone – at this stage or any other in the womb?  Not very.  Most parents have a gnawing desire to do something to help baby, especially when it comes to baby’s brain.  Fueling that drive is an enormous sector of the toy economy show sole strategy is, I am convinced, to play off the fears of well-meaning parents.


John Medina really does a fabulous job in this book of bridging parents burning questions about children’s development and learning with scientific evidence.  The five questions (actually from parents) he aims to answer are “What can my baby learn while she is still in the womb?”, “What’s going to happen to my marriage after we bring our baby home?”, “How do I get my kid into Harvard?”, “How can I make sure my little girl is happy?”, and “How do I make my child GOOD?”  If you’re looking for a great book on baby and child development definitely check out Brain Rules for Baby!