You have encouraged them to eat their greens, battled to get them into the best school and sweated with them over their homework – all to give them the best start in life. But your children’s prospects may have been determined long before all the hard work. A growing body of research suggests the first 1,000 days of a child’s life – the nine months in the womb and the first two years out of it – are vital to their long-term health。

　　也许你还在努力赚钱为了自己的孩子能进名校能努力、也许你牺牲了你玩游戏网购的时间来陪儿子女儿做功课、也许你花了大价钱请名师来辅导女儿钢琴，为了是能培养一名琴棋书画的人才。可是，最新的研究结果显示，孩子的前途有可能在母亲肚子的9个月内就已经是注定了的，据悉，婴儿在母亲体内形成的最初1000天对孩子日后身体健康发展有着至关重要的影响。

　　That period can permanently affect everything from a child’s chances of developing diabetes or having a heart attack in old age, to their future weight and life expectancy. The theory was developed after decades of research by Professor David Barker and his colleagues at Southampton University. They believe there are a series of critical stages in a child’s development. If conditions are not perfect at each step, problems can occur later。

　　可是究竟在母亲子宫内发生了什么事情呢？都说10月怀胎，在婴儿胎体形成的最初9个月到底给于婴儿日后什么重要的影响呢？研究者说，这9个月决定了孩子在他们在“中年危机”40岁到50岁时不容易患上糖尿病、或者患上心脏病的概率。人们先前专注于婴儿出生后的早期教育，而研究者认为早期教育的时间可以再往前推，推到母亲的子宫中。据悉，这项研究是由来自英国南安普顿大学的教授大卫·巴克以及他的研究团队历经10年而得出的结论。

　　Many of these danger points lie when the baby is still in the womb. Poor nutrition for a mother affects both the unborn baby’s weight and how well the placenta works, while smoking, stress, drugs and alcohol can also take their toll.　　尽管研究团队认为在子宫中婴儿的成长健康程度与日后患糖尿病以及心脏病有关系，但是他们还是撇清了大脑、谷歌甚至免疫系统类似疾病与母亲子宫内婴儿之间的关系，他们认为这些疾病在婴儿1岁之后，也就是第二个生日开始的时候才逐渐形成。

　　It is thought that when food is scarce in the womb, it is channelled to the fledgling brain, leaving the heart weakened. The seeds of diabetes may also be sown before birth, as the pancreatic cells which make insulin develop in the womb. Conditions in the uterus can also affect weight for years to come, studies suggest。

　　有人总结，婴儿在子宫中食物的缺乏可以导致许多疾病，甚至心脏方面的不健康。但是母亲为了孩子吃得多、吃高蛋白的东西也不能保证婴儿健康，有太多的婴儿在刚降生时就被检测出胆固醇过高。所有的这些实验都是对那些每日为想法设法为自己的孩子创造良好生存环境的父母们而设计的，提醒他们，在孕育孩子的时候，就要给孩子最好的照顾。

　　Professor Barker said many of these early effects are ‘set in stone’ and cannot be undone. He added that the key to health is ensuring women eat well throughout their lives. He said: ‘It is about building a body that the baby can live off. The baby lives off the mother’s body – not what she snacks on during pregnancy.‘What we are seeing is a window of opportunity where we can make better people。

　　教授巴克 认为许多健康方面的疾病可以追溯到婴儿尚且还在胚胎时的状态，比如由于婴儿在子宫中的发育缓慢而最终行程。他举例，比如早产的婴儿在日后患上心脏病的机率就会高得多。平均来说，体重为5.5磅的婴儿相比在9.5磅的婴儿，在日后更患上心脏病要高得多。(编译：韦方苑)