How to promote baby's neurological development

We all know that the healthy growth and development of the baby concerns every parent. Parents hope that their children can develop normally or even ahead of schedule, especially in terms of intelligence and neurology. If these two aspects develop slowly, it is easy to cause mentally retarded children. In order to promote the baby's neurological development, many parents have some tips. So how to promote the baby's neurological development?

There are three necessary conditions for a well-developed brain, namely, brain cells: large in number, large in size, and with frequent connections between cells.

Once the cerebral cortex appears, the cells with intelligent functions begin to function and continue to develop and grow. If malnutrition occurs during the embryonic period, the total number of brain cells will be only 82% of the normal number of cells. If malnutrition occurs before and after birth, the total number of brain cells will be only 40% of the normal number of cells, and the amount and weight of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in various parts of the brain will also decrease in proportion to the age in months after birth.

It is worth pointing out that malnutrition during the fetal period, especially in early pregnancy, will result in fewer brain cells than a normal baby. Even if the baby is well fed after birth, intellectual recovery will still be slow or difficult to recover. Long-term malnutrition will cause the amount and weight of DNA in the baby's brain, cerebellum or brain stem to lag far behind that of a normal baby, being only 1/2-3/4 of that of a normal baby.

It can be seen that adequate nutrition supply to pregnant mothers during the 3rd to 6th month and the 7th to 9th month of pregnancy is a crucial factor influencing the brain development of the fetus.

Nutritional supplements to promote baby's brain development

1. Vitamin B1 - Nerve Function Assistant

Vitamin B1, also known as thiamine, is involved in energy metabolism, plays an important role in neurophysiology, and is also related to heart function. It works on the brains of fetuses and infants, promoting brain activity by helping with protein metabolism, and is an indispensable and important assistant for mental activities. If there is a lack of vitamin B1, pregnant women may suffer from multiple neuritis; newborns often have symptoms such as crying, vomiting, diarrhea, staring, convulsions, and increased pyruvate. Nutritionists recommend that pregnant women consume 1.5 grams per day and nursing mothers consume 1.8 grams. Pregnant women and postpartum women need an additional daily supplement of 0.8 micrograms in addition to intake from food.

Function: Participates in energy metabolism and the conversion of glucose into fat in the form of enzymes.

When deficient: infants are susceptible to cerebral beriberi and neuritis, which can even cause death in severe cases. (What is cerebral beriberi? It is not the beriberi that people often talk about, but a nervous system disease caused by vitamin B1 deficiency.)

Clinical manifestations include: language disorder, hearing impairment, and intellectual disability. What is neuritis? —Clinical manifestations: pain in the peripheral nerves of newborns and numbness in the fingers and toes.