In utero experiences shape who we are, what we become. Revisiting 'Barker Hypothesis'.
According to Professor David Barker, our mental and physical capabilities are somewhat defined from birth. This is a difficult concept for some to process but we believe it is an important concept to recognise when strategising about how best to address disadvantage. Check out the trailer for 'The 9 Months That Made You' and see what you think?
‘The 9 Months That Made You” was released in 2011 and featured the late British scientist David Barker, pioneer of ‘Barker Hypothesis’ and contributor to the overarching concept of ‘fetal programming’. When the documentary was released it was powerful and provocative. It explored the concept that the time spent in the womb could predict your physical and mental capacity for the rest of your life. This concept bent my mind beyond repair but also made complete sense. It was at this time that I was doing some work with schools in low socioeconomic areas around healthy lifestyle. I had always felt a mismatch between what we were trying to achieve (healthy lifestyles for vulnerable children) and what we did achieve (healthier lifestyles for children with the capacity to be developed).
David Barker achieved great things over his career, none greater than applying himself to testing the ‘barker hypothesis’ on every continent in the world. He theorised that low birth weight was associated with chronic disease and physical development (including brain development) in later life. In India this was seen in relation to low birth weight babies and their future risk of diabetes. In Holland this was seen in low birth weight babies during the Dutch famine, in relation to the development of diabetes, heart disease, blood pressure and breast cancer in later life. Not only is the framework for physical health predetermined at birth but personality, behavioural and psychological traits are also developed in the womb. Clinical trials in the documentary explain that stress responses can be measured and tested in the womb and that children from a very early stage in life already have developed differing resilience traits in relation to stress.
'The 9 Months That Made You' explains that a child’s genetic disposition is developed from a mixture of both their mother's and father's genes in addition to some of these genes being switched on or off (epigenetics) in reaction to nutritional intake and other environmental factors such as toxic stress. The documentary drives home the notion that time spent in the womb sets up your constitution and resilience for life. The essence of the theory is that life before birth shapes our very being - who we are, who we become. Our physical and mental abilities are largely predetermined by in utero experience and how our parents and grandparents lived their lives.
‘Barker Hypothesis’ and ‘Fetal Programming’ continue to be researched and the evidence is fast stacking up that a mixture of genetics, epigenetics and environmental factors set the limits of our physical and mental capability. This notion for some is hard to swallow, but in our opinion gives explicit direction to invest in vulnerable young women, families and children to ensure that everyone has the physical foundations to thrive.