The Southern Side of the Endocrine System: What in the heck is fetal programming?
You’ve heard it, and perhaps you’ve even believed it…. the puffed up 10% truth most of us have been trained to wholly believe… that genetics largely determines our health fate. However, if you’ve stuck with me this long you’re a seasoned super sleuth and will already know that we have the upper hand. In becoming the conscientious gatekeepers of our personal “temples” (see I Corinthians 6:19), we are prohibiting the careless destruction caused by all things toxic to the mind, body, and spirit, and are largely (upwards of 90+%) able to prevent and circumvent the expression of wayward genes. THIS is what personal health and wellness management should look like.
There is another aspect to this though that I’ve not yet mentioned: womb life, and what that means to us as adults. “Fetal programming” is the propensity for developing a disease or dysfunction later in life based solely on environmental womb conditions… not genetics. Fetal programming starts the moment Harry (sperm) met Sally (egg) on the fallopian tube highway , and the effects of it will be felt throughout life and the life of your kids. Yes, what happened in your womb experience can affect future generations. Talk about scripture being walked out in life! (Exodus 20:5)
Because I believe in learning from history, let me give you a well documented example of this phenomenon. During the winter of 1944 World War II, the Dutch suffered a 6 month starvation event at the hands of the Nazi’s. More than 4 million people were affected, surviving on about 30% of normal caloric intake. As you might suspect, pregnant women who lived through the Dutch Hunger Winter gave birth to babies who weighed a fraction of what a term baby should weigh. As adults, these children were found to be more susceptible to diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and other health problems, while their siblings did not. As a result of being starved “in utero”, their bodies developed a “thrifty” mechanism which altered insulin production and the normal metabolism of sugar. As a consequence, when these children grew into adulthood and lived in a “normal food availability” world, their body still responded as though it was living in a state of starvation.
While an adaptation like this is meant to be a survival mechanism, it doesn’t always work out that way in health.
More examples of this include:
Perhaps you are curious how this happens…. ie: the root causes?
All of this has profound implications on us as adults, but also on babies
forming in the womb. For us grownup humans, if it is suspected (or known) that we were carried by our mothers under stressful conditions, some of us may have to work a little harder

at mediating stress response because of our own fetal programming scenario. Half the battle is understanding the why.
The other half is knowing how to use the tools we have on hand to help support a healthy mind and body. Thank goodness for these tools of ours! I’ve talked at length about them, so I leave it up to you to revisit those posts. Ideally, please share in the comments below what modalities you have found that work best for you. Our personal stories help light the path so that others may also find their way.
Now, what about these sweet babies
in the womb? Thankfully, the placenta plays a vital role in protecting the baby from harmful chemicals that may be in the mother’s blood by acting as both a barrier and a filtration system. A healthy functioning placenta will go a long way to prevent a biochemical or synthetic chemical cause for negative fetal programming. I always smile when I hear a new mama talking about how her midwife or doctor marveled over the beauty of her placenta that was supported daily with NingXia Red. There are soooo many of these stories out there! Some of the ways a healthy placenta may be supported include: NingXia Red, Master Formula, Super C Chewables, Mineral Essence, Sulfurzyme, Multigreens, Super B.* (*all with approval from your trusted doctor or midwife of course! ).
The good news is that fetal programming works both ways. Incorporating a healthy mind, body, and spirit/ soul experience throughout pregnancy with improved quality of food eaten, reduced exposure to hormone disruptive and toxic environmental chemicals and mediating maternal anxiety in natural ways improves the chances of a positively “programmed” tiny person who is more apt to be able to roll with life’s punches physically and emotionally. Remember too, that thoughts and words mean something to the body whether that body is an adult or a fetus, and the effects may either be a honeyed balm or a toxin. Words matter, and the body reflects what we think and feel about ourselves.
Use your Thieves Household Cleaner. Toss the toxins.
Diffuse your favorite Young Living essential oils. Ditch the endocrine disrupting fake fragrance air fresheners and plug-ins.
Honor your body and the bodies of future generations with your choices.
Think about all those little babies who are worth it! So are we. Each one of us.
xoxo~ liz
(link to Becoming Your Own Health Detective Vol I: https://goodmedicine.info/…/becoming-your-own-health…/ )