For a healthy baby, the child’s weight has to be taken care of from the day of conception. That means the growth of the child is determined from the first day of the formation of the zygote in the womb. The activities, thoughts and diet of the mother also influence the growth of the foetus. Ayurveda devotes a lot of thought on the need to fulfil the desires of the pregnant women and the importance of pregnancy diet. For a healthy baby, the pregnant mother should eat food that will increase the growth of tissues, which are of ‘Madhurapradhana’ (sweet products). If she follows the advice of masanumasika ahara and oushada (month-wise regime of food and medicine) she can expect a healthy progeny.
The science of eugenics is an original contribution of Ayurveda. For a healthy baby, the mother should follow the principles of eugenics or else the newborn baby will be underweight. The Balya, that is childhood up to 16 yrs, can be further divided into three phases: Knerapa – up to one year or the only milk feeding period, Knerannada, that is from one to two years, the milk and solids feeding period, and Annada, from two to 16 years or the solid feeding period. Read More