External circumstances affect growth of newborn in womb

For example, when you fight with someone, either one of you will dominate. If you dominate, you will want to punch the other person. Otherwise, you will run, and your legs will be busy. In either case, the limbs will be active. This shows that in a fight, the sympathetic nervous system dominates and adrenalin rushes, making the blood flow into the limbs.

Now, if a woman, who has just conceived and has a child growing in her, gets into a domestic fight and his forced to be in a defensive mode, the adrenalin will cross the blood barrier in her and reach the placenta. Therefore, the reaction to adrenalin in the mother and the foetus will be the same.

Hence, the limbs of the foetus will be supplied with a lot of blood. However, this will be at the cost of other organs that need this nourishment. Brain centres are also activated or stimulated because of these neurotransmitters. These activated centres receive more blood than the other parts of the brain, and therefore brain development also suffers. 

The author concludes that children born in families that lack in harmony, tend to have longer limbs and a more developed back side of the brain. However, those born in an environment where both the parents understand each other very well, will have their brains developed in different way. The cognitive abilities and the frontal lobes will be very well developed in such children. 

What happens when the blood supply to the limbs is at the cost of the visceral organs? The digestive system will be very poor in such children. So, who is determining the health of a child? The genetic pattern was beautiful, and both the parents were healthy when they shared each other’s genes. However, the circumstances under which the embryo developed was bad. The environment then determines the quality. Therefore, we cannot blame a child for the way he or she behaves. We should understand that, “I have not provided the right environment from day one.” 

Imagine a child being conceived and reared in a family that sincerely practices the ‘Heartfulness’ (HFN) way of life. Ideally, husband and wife will wake up around the same time and meditate and offer prayer together and have meals together whenever possible. When the child observes these things, even during sleep, he can witness the vibratory level and the atmosphere of the house. Many couples practicing HFN say, “When we meditate together, our child wakes up with a smile. He is not cranky. The day I don’t meditate, my child wakes up cranky.” It is a beautiful observation.

How you relate to your deeper self also affects the child. Your confidence affects the child. Your fears affect the child. All kind of attitudes affects the child. We share everything good and everything bad with our child, unknowingly, right from that moment or even before that of conception.

—  Kamlesh D Patel is the fourth spiritual Guide in the Sahaj Marg system of Raja Yoga meditation. He is a role model for students of spirituality who seek that perfect blend of eastern heart and western mind. He travels extensively and is at home with people from all backgrounds and walks of life, giving special attention to the youth of today