Empowering Cognitive Development During Pregnancy

Cognitive Development

While it is generally understood that the architecture of the human brain is driven by strong genetic influences, many expectant parents are unaware that research has recently revealed these genetic influences are silenced late in pregnancy. More specifically, during the third trimester, environmental factors influence the final phases of prenatal and early postnatal brain development.

How Environmental Factors Influence Development

Your baby’s cognitive development is a complex and orchestrated process that sets the framework for learning and behavior for life. It’s empowering as a parent to know you have access to a safe and effective early intervention tool that uses a series of alpha rhythmic and decibel-controlled sounds to spark creativity and early learning during one of the most impactful times of development.

Prenatal Sounds

Prenatal Environment

Why Early Intervention Matters

Over the past decades, the plasticity and capacity for adaptation of the human brain have been well documented, offering considerable potential for optimizing outcomes. Noninvasive, time-tested products like The BabyPlus Prenatal Education System® give expectant parents an opportunity to make the most of this precious time. Researchers think that the memory of sounds (‘auditory learning’) starts developing from 27 weeks of pregnancy, helping to lay the foundation for lifelong learning and emotional well-being.

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Parents who use prenatal education systems often notice improvements in their children’s problem-solving abilities, adaptability, and emotional stability later in life. By “tuning” your baby’s brain rhythms early on, you can promote an environment that supports focus, calmness, and cognitive growth.

“It’s not the cause of the stress, but how the person handles it that matters,” said Catherine Monk, professor of medical psychology at Columbia University. Stress management through mindfulness, therapeutic sounds, and other practices can help pregnant women lower stress and anxiety.

As an expectant mom, it is easy to feel overwhelmed and even helpless at times. It’s empowering to know that simple changes in your daily routine can yield big gains for you and your baby. Recognizing your importance as a caregiver during pregnancy can foster bonding with your baby and empower you throughout the birthing journey and beyond.

Bonding with Baby

Top 5 Tips For Your First Trimester

The first trimester can be both an exciting and scary time for any newly pregnant woman. It’s an important time and critical time in the pregnancy when the mother’s job is to focus on her health and the health of her growing child.

Our list of tips will help new moms get through these first 3 months and pave the way for a smooth rest of the pregnancy.

1. Find your healthcare provider

Finding the right healthcare provider, be it an OB/Gyn or a midwife, is vital to ensure you and your growing baby are healthy throughout your entire pregnancy. It is recommended that pregnant mothers see a healthcare provider once a month the first six months of pregnancy for prenatal care, so make sure you trust your doctor and he or she makes you feel comfortable. If you don’t have an OB/Gyn or pregnancy health care provider, ask your primary care physician, family, friends, or colleagues to recommend one.

2. Eat healthy and stay hydrated

According to the American Pregnancy Association, pregnant mothers must keep their bodies well hydrated as your blood volume increases to support two bodies. Consuming quality fluids is essential for both you and your baby’s health. It also helps prevent fatigue, constipation, and preterm labor. Pregnant mothers should eat healthy, nutrient-rich food throughout pregnancy. That’s not to say you shouldn’t give in to the occasional ice cream craving, but keep the leafy greens close by as well.

3. Budget for baby

Buying each and every fun and new thing for baby sounds great…and those tiny clothes are definitely adorable and tempting. But it’s important to set a budget for your maternity and baby needs. Borrowing items such as strollers or cribs, or accepting the generosity of friends and family, is a wonderful option. Try to stick to a budget – there can be plenty of surprise costs down the road.

4. Prenatal health

Without effective prenatal care, mothers face higher risk of encountering prenatal, childbirth and postpartum complications. Mothers who receive late or no prenatal care are more likely to give birth to babies with health ailments. In addition, be sure to ask your doctor or healthcare provider about what the right prenatal vitamin is for you. This is also time to think about your baby’s cognitive development. A safe, simple curriculum like BabyPlus Prenatal Education System has been shown to help your baby’s chances of being self-soothing, attentive, curious, and of reaching important infant development milestones in the strongest way.

5. REST

It is normal for newly pregnant mothers to feel fatigued. Go to bed early, take naps when you need them. You need more rest and sleep as your body changes to accommodate your growing child. Your energy is being used elsewhere – let your partner, close friends and family pamper you! You won’t have much time for sleep, peace, and quiet later on.

If you have questions on how BabyPlus can be a wonderful prenatal tool to encourage healthy prenatal cognitive development, let us know!

Are You Raising Creative Kids?

When we think of characteristics of creative people we often think of the idealized version of an artist or musician.

Although these can be examples of obvious creativity, it’s the characteristics of the highly creative that matter in shaping of our lives over time.

Adobe conducted State of Create survey among a group of 5,000 adults. Interestingly enough, Japan and the U.S. are the first- and second-most creative countries, respectively, among a global audience. Around the globe, more than half of Adobe’s respondents said creativity is being stamped out rather than nourished by the education system. “One of the myths of creativity is that very few people are really creative.” Sir Ken Robinson, Ph.D. Many experts feel that one of the problems is that too often educational systems don’t enable students to develop their natural creative powers. Most schools instead promote uniformity and standardization.

poppy-in-the-grass

It is by asking questions, wondering and being curious that creative people come up with spontaneous ideas. Rather than simply collecting information, creative brains play with it. This can’t happen in an environment of extreme structure and rigidity that lack brain stimulation. In fact, most studies show that creativity is about using both sides of the brain to solve problems. The highly creative child does not focus on left or right brain but instead relies on both to begin divergent thinking.

So how do you raise creative children? First, suspend the idea that creativity is inherited. While creativity is inherent in every human being, parents can nurture and strengthen a child’s creative abilities:

  1. Provide children an enriched environment early on. Products like BabyPlus Prenatal Education System® can provide baby with an appropriate environment for positive prenatal cognitive development.
  2. Provide unconstructed playtime. Resist the temptation to overschedule your child with activities.
  3. Get outside! Children often find the outdoors as a source of inspiration even from the stroller.
  4. Look for preschools which encourage creativity and allow for contemplation of abstract ideas.

Your child has the capacity to be creative. It’s empowering when you understand just how important your role as a parent can truly be!

“The brain can be developed just as a set of muscles.” ~ Thomas Edison

Top Baby Shower Gift Ideas

Coming up with ideas for your own baby shower registry or looking for a sweet, but practical, gift for a new parent-to-be in your life? Look no further than the list below! We’ve compiled ideas for gifts that will be appreciated and welcomed before and after that little one arrives.

 

kidspot-com

Books

Adorable baby clothes and tiny baby shoes will warm your heart and are wonderful gifts. However, those sweet baby clothes are often outgrown quicker than anyone believes. Books are the perfect, evergreen gift. Sharing a favorite book from childhood, a prenatal education book, or perhaps something you treasured reading to your little one, are priceless. A good book will be long-enjoyed by parents and baby – even when ‘baby’ is all grown up.

Gifts for Mom

We focus so much on gifts for the little one, we sometimes forget about mom! Prenatal massages, pedicures, tickets to sporting events or shows for a pre-baby date night are all great gifts that mom can enjoy. Or, if you want to add something extra, arrange for a deep house cleaning while mom is out being pampered. Whatever the gift, make sure it’s something that fits her personality – giving her that little bit of extra love can go a long way.

Gift cards

At first, gift cards may seem impersonal, but they can actually be a wonderfully useful gift for new families. A large gift card to a local baby store or a larger retailer can be a huge help as the baby grows and the family’s needs change –prenatal vitamins, diapers and other baby necessities are expensive! More general, non-store specific cards can be used for necessities like gas or extras that a growing family will need.

Diapers

This may seem obvious, but most moms agree that you need far more diapers than you think you’ll need. And even moms who decide to cloth diaper could use an extra few on hand.

Your Favorites

If you’re a parent yourself, consider buying things you loved having during pregnancy and just after. If you and your baby benefited from it, your friend likely will as well. A BabyPlus Prenatal Education System is a wonderful gift as it allows mom-to-be to help grow and develop baby’s mind and cognitive health while strengthening baby’s body. Considering the long-term benefits, BabyPlus will be a gift to both mom and baby long after the birth.

Read and learn more about the science behind BabyPlus – or read testimonials from BabyPlus moms.
Please feel free to connect with us if you have any questions or want to stay updated!

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