Monday 28 April 2014

Genetics and their influence on your baby

All through our pregnancy we keep fantasizing about our baby, how will she look what will be the color of her eyes, will she have straight hair or curly hair like her father. More than that I guess it is who will she look like? Or whose temperament will she carbon? Will she be tall or short? These questions will keep running across our mind all through the nine months. 

Each parent gives 23 chromosomes to their baby, that means she will receive 23 chromosomes from her mom and 23 from her father respectively. It is always said and heard that the dominant chromosome will finally emerge and the weaker one will subside. But it is a proven fact that babies need not just look like their parents they can even inherit genes from the earlier generations like their great grandparents. In my own experience I have seen a baby born with green eyes, and she was born to a set of parents with dark brown eyes. When asked it was revealed that the baby's maternal grandmother had the same eye color as the baby. Color of the eyes, facial features can depend a lot on the entire family genes, to some extent even the shape of the teeth can go on the family. The hand shape, the length of the fingers, the toes shape even the hair depends a lot on the family genes. My baby has a crooked right big toe since the day she was born and this crooked big toe was identical to my father's big toe, though I do not have it my daughter has inherited her toe from my father. Finger prints for instance also are the same as the family hand prints. To get an idea of what your baby may look like, it will be a good idea to go through some old family snaps of both the sides and surely your baby will look alike to one of the family members either your generation or your parents even your grandparents. Though the babies’ height will predominantly go on the parents but nutrition also plays an important role in it. Averagely if you are about 5 feet and 4 inches and your husband or partner is about 5 feet and 11 inches, then average of both these heights is about 5 feet and 6 inches so if you have a boy he is most likely to be 5 feet and 8 inches and if you have a girl she will be almost 5 feet and 5 inches. This calculation is roughly based genetically, but if the baby is not given the right nutrition even with tall parents the baby may not even reach average height and with proper nutrition and good care the baby may be way taller than her own parents. So to quite an extent the weight and height does go on the genes but only 50, the rest 50% depends on the baby's nutrition and food intake. Overweight parents usually have over weight babies not because of the genes but because of unhealthy eating habits, which the baby has inherited staying with her parent's. 

If you follow a disciplined lifestyle then surely your baby will be of a good height and proportionate weight. Hair color to a large extent also depends on the genes but as proven the darker hair gene are always more prominent than the light blonde color, so if one parent has dark hair and one has blonde hair be sure your baby will  inherit the dark hair color. It feels great to see your child have familiar looks and habits of you or your partner or your parent but that doesn't mean they will not have their own personality. Let the child blossom as they want to and see them grow into perfect adults. Whoever your child may look like or behave like end of the day it is your baby, so love them and cherish them for what they are. And help them grow and blossom into becoming good human beings that is the most important thing.

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