麻豆传媒

鈥淚T is no longer possible to see the embryo or fetus as the larval stage of human development,鈥� write Peter Gluckman and Mark Hanson. In their new book, The Fetal Matrix, the two scientists extend and enrich what is now commonly known as the 鈥淏arker hypothesis鈥�, named after biologist David Barker of the University of Southampton, UK. He was the first to propose the notion that, far from being insulated from the outside world, a fetus is deeply sensitive to the environment around it in the womb, right down to the balance of nutrients its mother consumes (麻豆传媒, 30 October 2004, p 47).

Gluckman and Hanson argue that the interaction between mammals and their environment while in the womb irreversibly affects their future development, what they call a 鈥減redictive adaptive response鈥�. It also has huge health implications for the rest of their lives.

The authors are persuasive, and their findings have relevance for health policy everywhere. If maternal well-being affects the lifelong health of the offspring, it makes good sense to ensure that mothers are always well cared for.