The umbilical cord is the living link through which a mother feeds her baby and removes its waste. The cord also becomes the conduit of an ongoing exchange, a silent conversation, in which hormones from the mother
and the baby signal changes in each other’s bodies.
The umbilical cord consists of three blood vessels—two umbilical arteries and one umbilical vein—embedded in slippery connective tissue called Wharton’s jelly. The arteries spiral around the vein, giving the cord the toughness of a cable. At one end of the cord is the baby; at the other is
the placenta.
The baby’s heart pumps depleted blood out of its body through the umbilical arteries to the placenta, where the arteries divide into a network of tiny capillaries. The mother’s blood in the placenta forms a free-flowing, living five-ounce lake about the size of a glass of red wine. This blood is refreshed completely three or four times each minute to supply the baby’s needs. The replenished blood returns through the umbilical cord like a steady, unhindered river bringing the stuff of life to the fetus.
and the baby signal changes in each other’s bodies.
The umbilical cord consists of three blood vessels—two umbilical arteries and one umbilical vein—embedded in slippery connective tissue called Wharton’s jelly. The arteries spiral around the vein, giving the cord the toughness of a cable. At one end of the cord is the baby; at the other is
the placenta.
The baby’s heart pumps depleted blood out of its body through the umbilical arteries to the placenta, where the arteries divide into a network of tiny capillaries. The mother’s blood in the placenta forms a free-flowing, living five-ounce lake about the size of a glass of red wine. This blood is refreshed completely three or four times each minute to supply the baby’s needs. The replenished blood returns through the umbilical cord like a steady, unhindered river bringing the stuff of life to the fetus.
By the fourth month of pregnancy, seventy-five quarts of blood flow through this river every day, delivering oxygen-rich vital nutrients and removing waste. A typical blood cell will make a complete round trip every thirty seconds. By the time the baby is born, up to three hundred quarts of
blood a day will flow through the umbilical cord.1
Three hundred quarts!
And you, the expectant mom, don’t have to do anything out of the ordinary to make that happen as you prepare for the arrival of your little one. The human reproductive system is truly a remarkable thing.
However, this constant flow of blood that stimulates the baby to grow and develop also offers access to elements of our world that can harm a baby in the womb. Just as the umbilical cord can deliver high-quality
nourishment and the fortifying hydration of healthy liquids, it also can transport unhealthy air, food, water, and fumes if those elements are coursing through the mother’s body or in her environment.
That’s why the decisions you make during your pregnancy about what to eat, drink, inhale, and put on your skin or hair can help ensure that this primal lake bathes your baby with enriching, beneficial nutrients.
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