Sardines

Eat Sardines, Be Happy … and Sing

Midwifery Today, Issue 148, Winter 2023
Join Midwifery Today Online Membership

Originally published in Midwifery Today, Issue 59, Autumn 2001

When a human baby is still in the womb there is a priority, which is to feed her brain. Today we have a good understanding of the specific nutritional needs of the developing brain. The brain is mostly made of fat. This means that its basic needs must first be expressed in terms of lipids. Without being too technical, we must recall that the brain of the fetus has a real thirst for highly unsaturated fatty acids, particularly those of the omega-3 family.

The mother-to-be can use two ways to satisfy the huge demand for such fatty acids. The first is direct. It is to have a diet rich in preformed, highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids: in practice this means eating sea fish. Fish from the beginning of the seafood chain—such as sardines, pilchards, herring, or common Atlantic mackerels—are not polluted.

The second way is indirect. It is to make sure that the maternal body will be able to transform the parent molecule of this family—which is abundant in the land food chain—into longer and more desaturated molecules. Yet certain hormones, such as cortisol, are blocking agents of the metabolic pathway of unsaturated fatty acids. People who are not happy release cortisol at a higher level, typically when they feel dominated by somebody (e.g., an authoritarian spouse) or by a situation (e.g., being pregnant when they don’t want to be pregnant). We can conclude, from modern scientific data, that it is better for a pregnant woman to be happy.

We can also conclude that, from a biochemical point of view, to eat sardines and to be happy are the same: directly or indirectly, the mother can provide the long chain polyunsaturates that are necessary to feed the baby’s brain. Of course, both ways are not exclusive an can be complementary.

There is no simple recipe for happiness. The emotional state of pregnant women is traditionally the business of the family and the community. Today, in the age of medicalization of pregnancy and childbirth, health professionals also have a responsibility to protect the emotional state of pregnant women. One of their main duties should be to reduce the possible “nocebo effect” of prenatal care. Health professionals have a nocebo effect whenever they do more harm than good by interfering with the imagination, the fantasy life, or the belief system of the person they care for. For example, an isolated increased blood pressure at the end of pregnancy is, more often than not, a propitious sign of good placental activity: the placenta, which is the “advocate of the baby,” asks the mother to provide a little more blood. When the health professional presents this physiological response as bad news, although it is radically different from the disease of preeclampsia, the nocebo effect may be dramatic. The mother-to-be cannot be happy anymore.

Health professionals can have a spectacularly positive effect on the emotional state of pregnant women through their vocabulary, their attitude, and even their body language. They can also encourage or even organize events that are outside the framework of medical consultations. In the maternity unit at the Pithiviers hospital in France, we used to meet around the piano and sing together on Tuesday nights: pregnant women, young mothers and their newborn babies, midwives, cleaning ladies, secretaries, etc., could join the group. After singing. and often dancing, there was an atmosphere of happiness and even euphoria. Such sessions were probably more beneficial for the growth and development of the fetuses than would be a series of sophisticated ultrasound scans or a Doppler screening of the placental perfusion.

While in the womb of a singing mother, the baby can perceive enriched sound vibrations. This must be taken into consideration during this current age of professional singers, recorded music, radio and television, which is a time when most people, particularly pregnant women and young mothers, do not sing anymore. The universal lullabies have disappeared. The developing brain must also be fed with sensory stimulation.

About Author: Michel Odent

Michel Odent Michel Odent, MD, has been in charge of the surgical unit and the maternity unit at the Pithiviers (France) state hospital (1962–1985) and is the founder of the Primal Health Research Centre (London). He is the author of the first articles in the medical literature about the initiation of lactation during the hour following birth and of the first article about use of birthing pools (The Lancet 1983). He created the Primal Health Research database. He is the author of 15 books published in 22 languages. His 2015 book, titled Do We Need Midwives?, is followed by an addendum titled Will Humanity Survive Medicine? Co-author of five academic books, he is also a contributing editor to Midwifery Today magazine.

His approach has been featured in eminent medical journals such as The Lancet and in TV documentaries such as the BBC film Birth Reborn. After his hospital career he practiced homebirths. As a researcher Michel Odent founded the Primal Health Research Center in London, England, which focuses on the long-term consequences of early experiences. An overview of the Primal Health Research data bank www.primalhealthresearch.com demonstrates how health is shaped during the primal period (from conception until the first birthday). The research also suggests that the way we are born has long-term consequences for sociability, aggressiveness—in other words, for our capacity to love. Michel Odent has developed a pre-conception program (the “accordion method”) that minimizes the polluting effects of synthetic fat-soluble chemicals, such as dioxins and PCBs, during pregnancy and breastfeeding. His other research interests are the nonspecific long-term effects of early multiple vaccinations. Visit Michel Odent’s website at www.wombecology.com/. For further information on Michel Odent, his books and the Primal Health Research Center, visit www.primalhealthresearch.com. Learn about the Paramana Doula Course by Michel Odent and Liliana Lammers, an experienced doula, at www.paramanadoula.com. To view Michel Odent’s responses to questions on the Mothering magazine site, see www.mothering.com/sections/experts/odent-archive.html In addition to approximately 50 scientific papers, Odent has published 15 books in 23 languages. His books demonstrate his artistry in turning traditional questions around: “How do we develop good health?” instead of “How do we prevent disease?” or “How do we develop the capacity to love?” instead of “How do we prevent violence?” Michel Odent is the author of the first article in the medical literature about the use of birthing pools (The Lancet 1983), of the first article about the initiation of lactation during the hour following birth, and of the first article applying the “Gate Control Theory of Pain” to obstetrics. He is the author of 12 books published in 22 languages. After his hospital career he practiced homebirths. Odent’s 21st-century books (The Scientification of Love, The Farmer and the Obstetrician and The Caesarean) may be regarded as a trilogy. They raise urgent questions about the future of our civilizations. Other books by Michel Odent:

Photo by Serge A McCabe

View all posts by

Skip to content