Tips for Growing Your Baby's Brain

Tip #1: Avoid Alcohol & Tobacco

Avoid both alcohol and tobacco if there is any chance you are pregnant. Waiting until you know for sure may be too late for your child.

At birth a healthy baby should have about 100 billion brain cells which have formed during pregnancy.
These brain cells are the “building blocks” for what will become the child's adult brain.
The first three months of pregnancy is when most of these brain cells are formed.
Alcohol and nicotine both cross from the mother to the baby during pregnancy.
Alcohol is a poison to the nerve cells in the baby's brain. It can damage and kill off brain cells – these will never grow back.
Drinking during pregnancy can mean a baby will be born with lower intelligence and sometimes a host of other mental and physical problems, including serious learning disabilities.
Smoking is also known to be harmful to an unborn baby's brain.
Nicotine is an addictive drug that changes the chemical balance of the brain. The effect on an unborn baby's brain may be permanent.
Many studies now show that mothers who smoke during pregnancy are more likely to have babies who suffer from mental retardation.