An article in the Gulf Daily News caught my attention recently. It was published on 11th of November.
The article mentions that Bahrain’s birth rate is falling, and infant mortality (death) rate is increasing. Apparently, still births increased from 6.2 out of 1000 in 2006, to 7.4 in 2007.
Also, the of premature infant born rate rose from 102.6 per 1,000 live births to 110. There was also an increase in the number of dead foetuses (prenatal mortality rate.) Further, the overall infant mortality rate increased from 7.6 in 2006 to 8.3 last year.
Lastly, the number of mothers dying during child birth increased from 13.3 in 2006, to 18.8 last year.
These statistics really caught my eye. First of all, they are nothing less than shocking! Here we are, in the 21st century, with all this modern science and technology, and the latest medical break-throughs, and our infant mortality rates are going up!
Welcome to the century of the dead babies! How sad…
How can this be??
Well, I think I know why. Here’s my two cents on the subject.
Though we are living in a technologically advanced era, we are probably the unhealthiest we’ve been in a very long time. We humans were just not meant to be as sedentary as we are today. All we do is sit and eat. People take better care of their cars than they do of their bodies.
Most Bahrainis will spend hours and hours sitting behind a desk at work, then they’ll go home, and sit hours and hours in front of the TV. And all they eat all day is junk food - crisps, candy, fizzy drinks, burgers, hot dogs, ice cream, candy and so on.
If memory serves me correctly, we’re the fourth most obese country in the GCC. By the way, it wasn’t mentioned in the GDN article, but Bahrain’s level of Type 2 (late onset) diabetes is also on the rise.
Well, what kind of quality sperm and eggs will these overweight, unfit and unhealthy people produce? I’ll tell you, very week ones. The baby never even had a chance. And those that do survive birth (a birth loaded with chemicals and pain-killers) can look forward to a poor diet from them moment they’re born until their slow, agonising death.
I don’t mean to be offensive here, but it’s the truth, and the truth hurts sometimes. Healthy people produce healthy babies [all other things being equal], and unhealthy, overweight people risk pregnancy complications, birth complications, and a sickly child.
If you don’t have children yet, and you’re considering conceiving, here are some tips for you.
- Exercise!
I don’t care how much you hate it, or how much you try to convince yourself that you don’t have time to exercise, you have to do it! It’s not really a choice - you don’t have time not to exercise. Oh, and you can’t start after you’re pregnant, it’s too late then. Start before, and make it a life long habit. Exercise at the very least three times a week - forever.
- Eat right!
Look, if you don’t make these changes for you, then do it for the baby! Being unfit and unhealthy and having babies is being really selfish. It shocks me how few people make the connection between their pre-birth lifestyle and the many health problems their baby has. It’s all connected.
Eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. And have one or two small snacks in between. Include fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds.
- Cut out milk!
“What??”, I hear you say, “milk??” Yes, you heard that correctly, cut out milk. In fact cut out dairy all together! I know I know, milk is supposed to be healthy and good for us, but that’s just not true. It’s probably the modern era’s greatest myth. In the dark ages people thought that the earth was the centre of the universe, and those who opposed these thoughts were threatened with torture or death.
Of course, time proved that these progressive thinkers were right. Well, thinking that milk is necessary for us the equivalent of thinking the earth is the centre of the universe - or that the earth is flat for that matter
Think about it, when’s the last time you saw an adult walk up to his mother and drink her milk? I hope never, right?
Think about this, when’s the last time you saw a fully grown cow walk up to it’s mother and drink her milk? Never, right? Did you know that humans are the only animals on the planet that continue to drink milk as adults? And another animal’s milk for that matter. Think about it.
Well if cows don’t drink each other’s milk, why are you doing it?
We humans do need milk, for about the first two years of our life, and then should not be drinking it. I can feel your discomfort with what I’m saying. Don’t take my word for it, look up Robert Cohen, author of Milk, The Deadly Poison . He can explain this a lot better than I can.
- Kill The Playstation!
This is more relevant for people who already have kids. If you already have kids, you don’t want them to turn into lazy, overweight, uncoordinated adults. I strongly encourage you to either take away video consoles, or be very strict about how much time they can spend on them. Children should be running and moving a lot. If they don’t do this in their childhood they won’t do it as adults. You don’t want them to contribute to future mortality figures.
- Stop Smoking!
You already know the risks of cancer etc. associated with smoking, so you don’t need me to lecture you about it. If you don’t want to quit, do it for your kids. The sperms and eggs you produce will be second rate if you’re hooked on the devil’s stink-me-up-and-turn-my-teath-yellow death stick.
Look, I’ve seen people I care about die slowly because of their weight and unhealthy lifestyle. You’re not going to live forever, and if you think you’ll take care of your health when you’re older it’ll probably be too late by then.
Your health and weight will make a huge difference in the last ten to twenty years of your life. I heard the legendary Dr Kenneth Cooper (the inventor of the word “aerobics”) say that healthy people live long lives and just “drop off.” They die a quick, painless death. Whereas unhealthy people have a gradual decline in health, and usually die a slow, prolonged death.
The choice is yours my friend.
