parasites and babies

[Guest guest]

it seems that i have raised the rancor of some with my innocent

statement about babies and parasites

first off, let me state that i don't think parasites are bad - in fact

many parasites that live in our gut have very important functions that

allow us to stay healthy

there is good research to suggest for example, that having certain

parasites can protect against diseases such as Crohn's

so i don't equate parasite with something necessarily bad - some of our

most useful herbs are parasitic, for example Mistletoe and Sandalwood

and these by any definition have sattvic qualities

 

i am not seriously contending that the fetus is a parasite, but there

are similarities

a parasite is an organism that feeds off the resources produced by

another

in a similar fashion, the fetus is fed by the mother in a hierarchical

fashion during gestation

thus if the diet is deficient in any nutrient these are taken from the

mother's body to feed the fetus, whether its iron from the blood, or

calcium from the bone

 

in ayurvedic medicine it is well-recognized that the fetus feeds upon

the mother's ojas, right up until the ninth month

the 8th month is a traditionally considered a particularly delicate

time, when the fetus requires more energy than the mother's body can

muster, and yet is still incapable of maintaining its own supply (in

this respect the traditional timing may be in error, as many babies

survive premature delivery in the 8th month, even without medical

intervention)

nonetheless, the 8th month is held to be a very delicate time and

special remedies are given during this time to increase ojas, such as

cow's milk with ghee

i use the analogy with my patients to reinforce the idea that they are

likely to suffer a net deficit if they don't take special precautions

unlike in more traditional cultures women in the West are not counseled

to take special measures to preserve their energy, apart from folic

acid and extra iron - this is clearly insufficient and doesn't address

the real dynamics of ojas depletion that occurs with evolving and

sustaining another living organism with your body

 

i haven't had a pregnant women yet who has taken issue with my analogy

of a parasite, but maybe you need to see my smiling face to understand

the context!

Caldecott

todd

www.toddcaldecott.com

[Guest guest]

OMG i completely misunderstood what you were comparing it to a paraisite

growing within the body.. because it is attached to the mother and gets

life from its mothers life. My appologies i took it totally the wrong way.

 

Hugs

Deana