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Before science had the ability to track brain growth and development in the womb, it was believed the third trimester was the most crucial in preparing for life out of the womb. They now know that starting in the first weeks of life - new neurons are being generated at the rate of about 250,000 per minute! While brain growth and development are largely genetically determined, environmental factors - most importantly good nutrition and refraining from drugs including alcohol and tobacco also affect brain development, beginning in the first weeks of life.

During the first trimester the Central Nervous System (CNS) is one of the first systems to be formed. Doctors recommend Folic Acid supplements for all women during their child baring years, otherwise starting 2 months prior to conception in a planned pregnancy and through the end of the first trimester. When development is disrupted in the first trimester, as things are being "put into their correct place" it will more likely cause a defect in the design such as Spina Bifida - hydrocephalus and anencephaly. This happens by day 28, often before a woman knows she has conceived. Lack of Folic Acid (Vitamin A) in the maternal diet is thought to be a significant cause of this defect.

By week one of the second trimester impulses allow the growing baby to squint, frown, and open her mouth as she exercises to prepare for life outside of the womb. She'll start to experiment with touch by feeling her face or touching anything else within reach. During the second trimester specific cortical neural connections are being made at a rate of over 41,000/second This gives researchers new understanding of normal brain development and the disruptions in development that cause cerebral palsy.

Late in second trimester the brain is forming specialized areas for vision, hearing, smell, taste and touch. Your baby will start to hear and may even be startled by loud noises outside the womb. During this phase, with eyes still fused shut a baby will try to move away from the needle used for amniocentesis and some babies will even attack it. Poor diet at this phase of development causes retarded growth and refinement of the involved structure or system.

During the 3rd trimester, the brain goes through a final growth spurt and continues to produce the more than 100 billion neurons that will be set in motion over the course of the pregnancy. The well nourished baby comes into this world with brain development that regulates his breathing, digesting, heart rate and body temperature. It tells him when he is hungry and what he needs to do about it. Vision that allows him to find his food source, a sense of smell, so refined that he will know if a blanket he lies on was against his mother's skin or someone else. Insufficient omega-3 fatty acids and protein in this phase, cause a reduction in the vital neurons and synapses he will need to assimilate to life out of the womb.

"Other than allowing your baby to think, move, feel, see, hear, taste, and smell, the brain is of no particular importance." Dr. Steven Johnson M.D.

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Q: Good nutrition is especially important for brain development during what trimester of pregnancy?
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