Positive Thinking During Pregnancy Has Surprising Benefits

Is there really something to the wives tale to always think happy thoughts when pregnant? The answer is yes, it turns out that thinking positive thoughts during pregnancy and listing to positive affirmations with apps like Creation do play a role in the development of your baby.

Women who are pregnant usually do have a lot on their minds. Instead of having an afternoon coffee to wake up, should you switch to decaf? Should you order a sushi roll from your favorite downtown without raw fish? Should you start taking it easier and do gentle yoga instead? Am I feeding myself and the baby enough? A study published in the journal Developmental Review suggests that expecting a child is more than just about your physical health, it shows that how a mum thinks about her unborn baby during pregnancy could impact the way she interacts with the babe after giving birth.

University of Cambridge researches were interested in a definitive connection between the way moms and dads think about their children during pregnancy and the way they interact after birth, is it possible that electrochemical reactions in our brains really do impact how our babies develop?

The studies researchers took in data from 14 studies involving 1,862 mothers and fathers, the research examined the parents thoughts and feelings about their child during the pregnancy through interviews and questionnaires and then observed the interaction between the parents and child after its birth. One of the studies measures was how sensitive the parents were to the child’s needs. Past research has shown that attachment or an infant’s ability to be confronted by caregivers when upset plays an important role in development and adjustment.

The researcher’s conclusions from the combined results from all 14 studies found a “significant association” between a moms positive thoughts and feelings about her baby during pregnancy and her later interactions with her child. The study found however this is not the case for fathers, which is supported by other findings that fathers take a longer time to bond with their kids, due to the lack of physical connection.

The studies first author Sarah Foley carried out the research as part of her Ph.D. program. In a statement, she said this is a fairly new area of research that could help new moms better connect with their children. "Studies have shown that parent-child interaction is crucial for a child's development and learning, so we wanted to understand if there were prenatal signs that might predict a parent's behavior. We found a relationship between a mother's attitude towards her baby during pregnancy and her later interactions.

While the research is limited, it shows that it certainly can’t hurt to spend some time bonding with your tiny human by simply meditating on what type of person they’ll become when they get older, playing affirmations through apps such as Creation app which provides and records you reading positive affirmations that you then play on a loop, embedding positive thoughts into your subconscious mind, listing to positive, repeating affirmations and thoughts about the health of the baby and its future, that’s a better way to spend your time than worrying too much about whether or not you’re going to get a listeria infection from the deli meats you ate at your company’s holiday party.