Easter: Chocolates and Their Impact on Babies' Development

As parents, we would like to give our children the best. Many parents are already trying to give their babies a good head-start when their babies are in the wombs. Some play music to their babies during pregnancy as it is believed that music can assist in their babies' development.

It is widely believed that the diet of the mother-to-be would affect the baby and most mothers-to-be make considerable effort to adjust their diets for the sake of their babies. In this essay, we discuss the impact chocolate has on the baby's development.

An University of Helsinki study showed that eating chocolate during pregnancy may make for happier and livelier babies. The scientists believed that mood-altering chemicals in the chocolate may be responsible.

In the study, 300 women participated. They responded to questions before and six months after giving birth. Those participants were asked about their stress levels and the volume of chocolate intake. Six months after the birth of their babies, the scientists surveyed them on their infants' behaviour.

The daily chocolate eaters were more likely to admit that they had happy and livelier babies. There were apparent differences between the babies of the chocolate eaters and the non-chocolate eaters. Interestingly, those non-chocolate eaters commented that their babies were fearful in new situations.

The scientists suggested that the chemicals in the chocolate were probably passed to the babies in the mother's womb. Of course, other factors could not be ruled out. In the meantime, Cadbury, the well-known chocolate manufacturer cautioned that chocolate contained only a small amount of phenylethylamine, the mood-altering chemical. Foods such as tomatoes and fruits contained more phenylethylamine.

On the other hand, mothers-to-be need to aware that chocolate contains caffeine and the American Pregnancy Association web site lists caffeine as one of the foods to avoid pregnancy. So, it would be advisable for mothers-to-be to do more reading before embarking a chocolate-eating spree.