The Preparedness Revolution: The Lancet’s Disruptive Study Reveals the Truth About Health That Affects Three Generations of Children and Grandchildren
Introduction: The truth that there is more to pregnancy preparation than the ‘trimester The Lancet, the world’s leading medical journal, has recently published three rare consecutive heavyweight studies that have completely overturned the traditional concept of pregnancy preparation. The studies found that parental health before pregnancy not only affects fetal development, but also has a cross-generational impact on the cardiovascular, metabolic, and even immune systems of offspring through epigenetic mechanisms. Preparing for pregnancy is not as simple as supplementing folic acid three months in advance, but a “lifelong health revolution” that requires preparation from childhood. I.Redefining the Preparation Period: From Three Days to Thirty Years 90% of doctors and families who prepare for pregnancy believe that pregnancy only takes three months to prepare, for example, folic acid supplementation starts in the first trimester. However, The Lancet redraws the preparation period in three dimensions: Biological perspective: days to weeks of embryo formation, when epigenetic markers begin to be established.Individual perspective: the weeks to months when couples plan for pregnancy.Public health perspective: the years or even decades it takes to address risk factors such as obesity and malnutrition.Case: Emily (USA): started health management at age 28, but only 2 good quality embryos were obtained in an IVF cycle due to impaired mitochondrial function of her eggs from a long term high sugar diet during her teenage years.James (UK): Due to his father’s long-term smoking, the sperm DNA fragmentation rate was as high as 35%, resulting in two miscarriages for his wife. Fetal programming theory: poor nutrition or stress during pregnancy may alter fetal gene expression, making them more susceptible to diabetes and hypertension as adults.Epigenetic memory: fathers with high-fat diets can “pass on” metabolic abnormalities to their grandchildren through sperm RNA, even if the grandchildren eat healthy. II.the four major minefields of…
