Annie Murphy Paul: What we learn before we're born

Translator: Klavdija Cernilogar Reviewer: Tilen Pigac - EFZG

My subject today is learning.

Moja današnja tema je učenje.

And in that spirit, I want to spring on you all a pop quiz.

In v tej luči vam želim zastaviti kviz vprašanje.

Ready?

Pripravljeni?

When does learning begin?

Kdaj se učenje začne?

Now as you ponder that question,

Medtem ko razmišljate,

maybe you're thinking about the first day of preschool

morda mislite na prvi dan male šole

or kindergarten,

ali vrtca,

the first time that kids are in a classroom with a teacher.

na prvo priložnost, ko so otroci v razredu z učiteljem.

Or maybe you've called to mind the toddler phase

Morda ste se spomnili faze malčka,

when children are learning how to walk and talk

ko se otroci učijo hoditi in govoriti

and use a fork.

ter uporabljati vilice.

Maybe you've encountered the Zero-to-Three movement,

Morda ste slišali za gibanje "od nič do tri",

which asserts that the most important years for learning

ki trdi, da so najpomembnejša leta za učenje

are the earliest ones.

prav najzgodnejša.

And so your answer to my question would be:

Vaš odgovor na moje vprašanje bi tako bil:

Learning begins at birth.

učenje se začne z rojstvom.

Well today I want to present to you

No, danes bi vam rada predstavila zamisel,

an idea that may be surprising

ki je morda presenetljiva

and may even seem implausible,

in se sliši celo neverjetno,

but which is supported by the latest evidence

vendar jo podpirajo novi dokazi

from psychology and biology.

s področja psihologije in biologije.

And that is that some of the most important learning we ever do

In ti kažejo, da se nekaj najpomembnejšega učenja

happens before we're born,

zgodi, preden se rodimo,

while we're still in the womb.

ko smo še v maternici.

Now I'm a science reporter.

Sama sem poročevalka s področja znanosti.

I write books and magazine articles.

Pišem knjige in članke.

And I'm also a mother.

In sem tudi mati.

And those two roles came together for me

Ti dve vlogi sta se združili

in a book that I wrote called "Origins."

v moji knjigi z naslovom "Izvori" (Origins).

"Origins" is a report from the front lines

"Izvori" je poročilo iz prve vrste

of an exciting new field

o vznemirljivem novem področju,

called fetal origins.

imenovanem izvor zarodkov.

Fetal origins is a scientific discipline

Izvor zarodkov je znanstvena disciplina,

that emerged just about two decades ago,

ki se je pojavila pred kakima dvema desetletjema

and it's based on the theory

in temelji na teoriji,

that our health and well-being throughout our lives

da na naše zdravje in dobro počutje skozi celo življenje

is crucially affected

bistveno vpliva

by the nine months we spend in the womb.

devet mesecev, ki jih preživimo v maternici.

Now this theory was of more than just intellectual interest to me.

Ta teorija me je zanimala bolj kot le z znanstvenega vidika.

I was myself pregnant

Sama sem bila noseča,

while I was doing the research for the book.

ko sem raziskovala za knjigo.

And one of the most fascinating insights

In ena od stvari, ki so me najbolj prevzele

I took from this work

med tem delom,

is that we're all learning about the world

je to, da se vsi učimo o svetu,

even before we enter it.

še preden vstopimo vanj.

When we hold our babies for the first time,

Ko prvič držimo v naročju svojega otroka,

we might imagine that they're clean slates,

si morda predstavljamo, da je prazen list papirja,

unmarked by life,

nezaznamovan od življenja,

when in fact, they've already been shaped by us

čeprav smo ga dejansko že oblikovali mi sami

and by the particular world we live in.

ter svet, v katerem živimo.

Today I want to share with you some of the amazing things

Danes bi z vami rada delila nekaj neverjetnih stvari,

that scientists are discovering

ki jih znanstveniki odkrivajo o tem,

about what fetuses learn

česa se zarodki naučijo,

while they're still in their mothers' bellies.

ko so še v maminem trebuhu.

First of all,

Prvič,

they learn the sound of their mothers' voices.

naučijo se zvoka maminega glasu.

Because sounds from the outside world

Ker morajo zvoki od zunaj

have to travel through the mother's abdominal tissue

potovati skozi mamin trebuh

and through the amniotic fluid that surrounds the fetus,

in skozi amniotsko tekočino, ki obkroža zarodek,

the voices fetuses hear,

so glasovi, ki jih zarodek sliši

starting around the fourth month of gestation,

nekje od četrtega meseca naprej,

are muted and muffled.

pridušeni in nejasni.

One researcher says

Eden od raziskovalcev pravi,

that they probably sound a lot like the the voice of Charlie Brown's teacher

da so verjetno slišati kot glas učitelja Charlieja Browna

in the old "Peanuts" cartoon.

v risanki "Peanuts".

But the pregnant woman's own voice

Glas noseče ženske

reverberates through her body,

pa odmeva skozi njeno telo

reaching the fetus much more readily.

in dosti lažje doseže zarodek.

And because the fetus is with her all the time,

In ker je zarodek z njo ves čas,

it hears her voice a lot.

zelo pogosto sliši njen glas.

Once the baby's born, it recognizes her voice

Ko se rodi, ta glas prepozna

and it prefers listening to her voice

in ga posluša raje

over anyone else's.

kot kateregakoli drugega.

How can we know this?

Kako to vemo?

Newborn babies can't do much,

Novorojenčki ne morejo početi veliko stvari,

but one thing they're really good at is sucking.

zelo dobri pa so pri sesanju.

Researchers take advantage of this fact

Raziskovalci izkoriščajo to dejstvo tako,

by rigging up two rubber nipples,

da uporabijo dve gumijasti bradavici:

so that if a baby sucks on one,

ko dojenček sesa eno,

it hears a recording of its mother's voice

sliši posnetek materinega glasu

on a pair of headphones,

skozi slušalke;

and if it sucks on the other nipple,

ko sesa drugo bradavico,

it hears a recording of a female stranger's voice.

pa sliši posnetek tujega ženskega glasu.

Babies quickly show their preference

Dojenčki hitro pokažejo svojo nagnjenost,

by choosing the first one.

tako da izberejo prvo.

Scientists also take advantage of the fact

Raziskovalci si pomagajo tudi z dejstvom,

that babies will slow down their sucking

da dojenčki upočasnijo sesanje,

when something interests them

ko jih nekaj zanima

and resume their fast sucking

in spet nadaljujejo s hitrejšim sesanjem,

when they get bored.

ko se dolgočasijo.

This is how researchers discovered

Na ta način so raziskovalci ugotovili,

that, after women repeatedly read aloud

da so potem ko so ženske večkrat naglas brale

a section of Dr. Seuss' "The Cat in the Hat" while they were pregnant,

izsek iz knjige Dr Seussa "Mačka v klobuku" med svojo nosečnostjo,

their newborn babies recognized that passage

novorojenčki prepoznali ta izsek,

when they hear it outside the womb.

tudi ko so ga slišali izven maternice.

My favorite experiment of this kind

Moj najljubši tovrstni eksperiment te vrste

is the one that showed that the babies

pa je tisti, ki kaže, da so otroci

of women who watched a certain soap opera

žensk, ki so med nosečnostjo vsak dan

every day during pregnancy

gledale določeno nadaljevanko,

recognized the theme song of that show

prepoznali naslovno pesem serije,

once they were born.

potem ko so se rodili.

So fetuses are even learning

Torej, zarodki se učijo celo

about the particular language that's spoken

posebnega jezika, ki ga govorimo v svetu,

in the world that they'll be born into.

v katerega se bodo rodili.

A study published last year

Lanskoletna študija

found that from birth, from the moment of birth,

je ugotovila, da od rojstva, od trenutka rojstva

babies cry in the accent

dojenčki jočejo v naglasu

of their mother's native language.

maminega maternega jezika.

French babies cry on a rising note

Francoski dojenčki jočejo z naraščajočim tonom,

while German babies end on a falling note,

nemški pa s padajočim,

imitating the melodic contours

s čimer imitirajo melodične posebnosti

of those languages.

teh dveh jezikov.

Now why would this kind of fetal learning

Zakaj pa je tovrstno učenje zarodkov

be useful?

koristno?

It may have evolved to aid the baby's survival.

Morda se je razvilo kot pomoč pri preživetju otroka.

From the moment of birth,

Od rojstva naprej

the baby responds most to the voice

se otrok najbolj odziva na glas

of the person who is most likely to care for it --

osebe, ki bo najbolj verjetno skrbela zanj --

its mother.

svoje matere.

It even makes its cries

Celo joče

sound like the mother's language,

v materinem jeziku,

which may further endear the baby to the mother,

kar lahko še bolj približa mater otroku

and which may give the baby a head start

in kar dojenčku lahko pomaga

in the critical task

pri kritični nalogi

of learning how to understand and speak

učenja, kako razumeti in govoriti

its native language.

svoj materni jezik.

But it's not just sounds

Niso pa samo zvoki tisto,

that fetuses are learning about in utero.

česar se zarodki učijo v maternici.

It's also tastes and smells.

Gre tudi za okus in vonj.

By seven months of gestation,

V sedmem mesecu nosečnosti

the fetus' taste buds are fully developed,

so brbončice na jeziku docela razvite

and its olfactory receptors, which allow it to smell,

in vohalni receptorji, ki omogočajo voh,

are functioning.

delujejo.

The flavors of the food a pregnant woman eats

Okusi hrane, ki jo je nosečnica,

find their way into the amniotic fluid,

se znajdejo v amniotski tekočini,

which is continuously swallowed

ki jo zarodek

by the fetus.

stalno požira.

Babies seem to remember and prefer these tastes

Kaže, da se dojenčki spomnijo teh okusov in

once they're out in the world.

jih imajo raje tudi ko se rodijo.

In one experiment, a group of pregnant women

V enem poizkusu so skupino nosečnic

was asked to drink a lot of carrot juice

prosili, naj pijejo veliko korenčkovega soka,

during their third trimester of pregnancy,

ko so bile v tretjem trimesečju,

while another group of pregnant women

medtem ko je druga skupina nosečnic

drank only water.

pila samo vodo.

Six months later, the women's infants

Šest mesecev kasneje so otrokom teh žensk

were offered cereal mixed with carrot juice,

ponudili žitarice, zmešane s korenčkovim sokom,

and their facial expressions were observed while they ate it.

in opazovali izraze na njihovih obrazih, ko so jih jedli.

The offspring of the carrot juice drinking women

Otroci žensk, ki so pile korenčkov sok,

ate more carrot-flavored cereal,

so pojedli več žitaric z okusom korenja

and from the looks of it,

in videti je bilo,

they seemed to enjoy it more.

da so pri tem bolj uživali.

A sort of French version of this experiment

Neke vrste francosko verzijo tega eksperimenta

was carried out in Dijon, France

so izvedli v Dijonu v Franciji,

where researchers found

kjer so raziskovalci odkrili,

that mothers who consumed food and drink

da so otroci mater, ki so med nosečnostjo uživale hrano in pijačo

flavored with licorice-flavored anise during pregnancy

z okusom sladkega korena,

showed a preference for anise

kazali preferenco do sladkega korena

on their first day of life,

že prvi dan življenja

and again, when they were tested later,

pa tudi kasneje, ko so jih testirali

on their fourth day of life.

četrti dan po rojstvu.

Babies whose mothers did not eat anise during pregnancy

Otroci, katerih matere med nosečnostjo niso uživale sladkega korena,

showed a reaction that translated roughly as "yuck."

so reagirali na način, ki ga lahko na grobo prevedemo kot "fuj".

What this means

To pomeni,

is that fetuses are effectively being taught by their mothers

da matere učijo svoje zarodke o tem,

about what is safe and good to eat.

kaj je varno in dobro jesti.

Fetuses are also being taught

Zarodki se učijo tudi

about the particular culture that they'll be joining

o posebni kulturi, ki se ji bodo pridružili,

through one of culture's most powerful expressions,

in sicer skozi enega najmočnejših kulturnih izrazov,

which is food.

hrano.

They're being introduced to the characteristic flavors and spices

Uvedeni so v značilne okuse in začimbe

of their culture's cuisine

kuhinje njihove kulture,

even before birth.

in to še pred rojstvom.

Now it turns out that fetuses are learning even bigger lessons.

Izkaže se, da se zarodki učijo še pomembnejših lekcij.

But before I get to that,

A preden se posvetim temu,

I want to address something that you may be wondering about.

bi rada povedala nekaj, kar vas bo morda začudilo.

The notion of fetal learning

Zamisel učenja zarodka

may conjure up for you attempts to enrich the fetus --

vas bo morda navedla k poskusom, kako obogatiti zarodek --

like playing Mozart through headphones

kot denimo z igranjem Mozarta skozi slušalke,

placed on a pregnant belly.

ki jih položite na trebuh nosečnice.

But actually, the nine-month-long process

A v resnici je devetmesečni proces

of molding and shaping that goes on in the womb

oblikovanja in formiranja tega, kar se dogaja v maternici,

is a lot more visceral and consequential than that.

veliko bolj ponotranjen in pomemben od tega.

Much of what a pregnant woman encounters in her daily life --

Večina stvari, ki jih nosečnica doživi v svojem vsakdanu --

the air she breathes,

zrak, ki ga diha,

the food and drink she consumes,

hrana in pijača, ki ju uživa,

the chemicals she's exposed to,

kemikalije, ki jim je izpostavljena,

even the emotions she feels --

celo čustva, ki jih občuti --

are shared in some fashion with her fetus.

na določen način deli z zarodkom.

They make up a mix of influences

Skupaj sestavljajo mešanico vplivov,

as individual and idiosyncratic

ki so tako edinstveni in posebni

as the woman herself.

kot ženska sama.

The fetus incorporates these offerings

Zarodek te vtise ponotranji

into its own body,

v svoje telo,

makes them part of its flesh and blood.

iz njih naredi del svojega mesa in krvi.

And often it does something more.

Pogosto pa naredi še nekaj več.

It treats these maternal contributions

Te materine prispevke obravnava

as information,

kot informacije,

as what I like to call biological postcards

kar jaz imenujem biološke kartice

from the world outside.

iz zunanjega sveta.

So what a fetus is learning about in utero

To, kar se zarodek uči v maternici,

is not Mozart's "Magic Flute"

ni Mozartova Čarobna piščal,

but answers to questions much more critical to its survival.

temveč so odgovori na vprašanja, ki so veliko bolj ključna za njegovo preživetje.

Will it be born into a world of abundance

Se bo rodil v svet blagostanja

or scarcity?

ali pomanjkanja?

Will it be safe and protected,

Bo varen in zaščiten

or will it face constant dangers and threats?

ali bo stalno v nevarnosti in ogrožen?

Will it live a long, fruitful life

Bo živel dolgo, polno življenje

or a short, harried one?

ali kratko in nemirno?

The pregnant woman's diet and stress level in particular

Posebej prehrana in stopnja stresa nosečnice

provide important clues to prevailing conditions

dajeta pomembne podatke o prevladujočih pogojih,

like a finger lifted to the wind.

podobno kot prst, ki ga dvignemo v vetru.

The resulting tuning and tweaking

Iz tega izhajajoče uglaševanje in prilagajanje

of a fetus' brain and other organs

zarodkovih možganov in drugih organov

are part of what give us humans

je del tega, zaradi česar smo ljudje

our enormous flexibility,

tako zelo prilagodljivi,

our ability to thrive

imamo sposobnost preživetja

in a huge variety of environments,

v veliko različnih okoljih,

from the country to the city,

od podeželja do mest,

from the tundra to the desert.

od tundre do puščave.

To conclude, I want to tell you two stories

Za konec bi vam rada povedala dve zgodbi o tem,

about how mothers teach their children about the world

kako matere učijo svoje otroke o svetu,

even before they're born.

še preden se rodijo.

In the autumn of 1944,

Jeseni leta 1944,

the darkest days of World War II,

v najtemnejših dneh druge svetovne vojne,

German troops blockaded Western Holland,

so nemške čete blokirale Zahodno Holandijo,

turning away all shipments of food.

kar je preprečilo dostop do hrane.

The opening of the Nazi's siege

Začetku nacističnega obleganja

was followed by one of the harshest winters in decades --

je sledila ena najostrejših zim v zadnjih desetletjih --

so cold the water in the canals froze solid.

tako mrzla, da je voda v kanalih zmrznila v led.

Soon food became scarce,

Kmalu je hrane začelo primanjkovati

with many Dutch surviving on just 500 calories a day --

in veliko Nizozemcev je preživelo z le 500 kalorijami na dan,

a quarter of what they consumed before the war.

kar je četrtina tega, kar so užili pred vojno.

As weeks of deprivation stretched into months,

Ko so se tedni pomanjkanja razširili na mesece,

some resorted to eating tulip bulbs.

so nekateri začeli jesti tulipanove cvetove.

By the beginning of May,

Začetek maja

the nation's carefully rationed food reserve

je bila državna rezerva hrane

was completely exhausted.

povsem izpraznjena.

The specter of mass starvation loomed.

Pričakovali so množično lakoto.

And then on May 5th, 1945,

Potem pa se je 5. maja 1945

the siege came to a sudden end

obleganje nenadoma končalo,

when Holland was liberated

saj so Nizozemsko osvobodili

by the Allies.

zavezniki.

The "Hunger Winter," as it came to be known,

"Zima lakote", kot so jo imenovali,

killed some 10,000 people

je umorila okoli 10.000 ljudi

and weakened thousands more.

in oslabila še na tisoče več.

But there was another population that was affected --

A prizadeta je bila še ena skupina --

the 40,000 fetuses

40.000 zarodkov,

in utero during the siege.

ki so bili v maternicah med obleganjem.

Some of the effects of malnutrition during pregnancy

Nekateri učinki podhranjenosti med nosečnostjo

were immediately apparent

so takoj postali očitni,

in higher rates of stillbirths,

denimo večji delež mrtvorojenih otrok,

birth defects, low birth weights

novorojenčki s hibami, nizko porodno težo

and infant mortality.

in smrtnost otrok.

But others wouldn't be discovered for many years.

A drugih niso zaznali še dolga leta.

Decades after the "Hunger Winter,"

Desetletja po "zimi lakote"

researchers documented

so raziskovalci dognali,

that people whose mothers were pregnant during the siege

da so bili ljudje, katerih matere so bile noseče med obleganjem,

have more obesity, more diabetes

bolj debeli, imeli več sladkorne bolezni

and more heart disease in later life

in več srčnih obolenj kasneje v življenju

than individuals who were gestated under normal conditions.

kot posamezniki, ki so bili v maternici pod normalnimi pogoji.

These individuals' prenatal experience of starvation

Ta predporodna izkušnja lakote

seems to have changed their bodies

je očitno spremenila njihova telesa

in myriad ways.

na mnoge načine.

They have higher blood pressure,

Imajo višji krvni pritisk,

poorer cholesterol profiles

slabšo sliko holesterola

and reduced glucose tolerance --

in nižjo toleranco na glukozo --

a precursor of diabetes.

kar je predhodnik sladkorne bolezni.

Why would undernutrition in the womb

Zakaj bi podhranjenost v maternici

result in disease later?

povzročila bolezen kasneje?

One explanation

Ena razlaga je,

is that fetuses are making the best of a bad situation.

da zarodki iz slabih okoliščin naredijo najboljši možen rezultat.

When food is scarce,

Ko manjka hrane,

they divert nutrients towards the really critical organ, the brain,

se usmerijo k res kritičnemu organu, k možganom,

and away from other organs

stran od drugih organov,

like the heart and liver.

kot sta srce in jetra.

This keeps the fetus alive in the short-term,

To na kratki rok omogoča preživetje zarodka,

but the bill comes due later on in life

a račun je treba plačati kasneje v življenju,

when those other organs, deprived early on,

ki ti drugi organi, ki so na začetku čutili pomanjkanje,

become more susceptible to disease.

postanejo bolj dovzetni za bolezen.

But that may not be all that's going on.

A morda to ni vse, kar se dogaja.

It seems that fetuses are taking cues

Videti je, da zarodki sprejemajo namige

from the intrauterine environment

iz medmaterničnega okolja

and tailoring their physiology accordingly.

in jim prilagodijo svojo fiziologijo.

They're preparing themselves

Pripravljajo se

for the kind of world they will encounter

na svet, ki ga bodo spoznali

on the other side of the womb.

na drugi strani maternice.

The fetus adjusts its metabolism

Zarodek prilagodi svoj metabolizem

and other physiological processes

in druge fiziološke procese,

in anticipation of the environment that awaits it.

v pričakovanju okolja, v katerega bo vstopil.

And the basis of the fetus' prediction

In osnova za zarodkovo napoved

is what its mother eats.

je to, s čimer se hrani njegova mati.

The meals a pregnant woman consumes

Obroki, ki jih uživa nosečnica,

constitute a kind of story,

so nekakšna zgodba,

a fairy tale of abundance

pravljica o blagostanju

or a grim chronicle of deprivation.

ali žalosten zapis o pomanjkanju.

This story imparts information

Ta zgodba daje informacije,

that the fetus uses

ki jih zarodek uporabi,

to organize its body and its systems --

da organizira svoje telo in svoje sisteme --

an adaptation to prevailing circumstances

kot prilagoditev na prevladujoče okoliščine,

that facilitates its future survival.

kar bo olajšalo njegovo preživetje.

Faced with severely limited resources,

Če je soočen z omejenimi viri,

a smaller-sized child with reduced energy requirements

bo manjši otrok z manjšimi potrebami po energiji

will, in fact, have a better chance

pravzaprav imel več možnosti

of living to adulthood.

preživetja do odraslosti.

The real trouble comes

Težava se začne,

when pregnant women are, in a sense, unreliable narrators,

kadar so nosečnice v nekem smislu nezanesljive pripovedovalke,

when fetuses are led

ko zarodek misli,

to expect a world of scarcity

da mora pričakovati svet pomanjkanja,

and are born instead into a world of plenty.

rodi pa se v svet blagostanja.

This is what happened to the children of the Dutch "Hunger Winter."

To se je zgodilo otrokom nizozemske "zime lakote".

And their higher rates of obesity,

Višja pojavnost debelosti,

diabetes and heart disease

sladkorne bolezni in srčnih obolenj

are the result.

je rezultat tega.

Bodies that were built to hang onto every calorie

Telesa, prilagojena na to, da izkoristijo vsako kalorijo,

found themselves swimming in the superfluous calories

so se znašla med odvečnimi kalorijami

of the post-war Western diet.

povojnega zahodnega načina prehrane.

The world they had learned about while in utero

Svet, ki so ga spoznali v maternici,

was not the same

ni bil enak tistemu,

as the world into which they were born.

v katerega so se rodili.

Here's another story.

Tule je še ena zgodba.

At 8:46 a.m. on September 11th, 2001,

11. septembra 2011 ob 8.46 zjutraj

there were tens of thousands of people

je bilo v bližini Svetovnega trgovinskega centra (WTC)

in the vicinity of the World Trade Center

v New Yorku

in New York --

na desettisoče ljudi --

commuters spilling off trains,

vozači, ki so sestopali z vlakov,

waitresses setting tables for the morning rush,

natakarice, ki so pripravljale mize za jutranji naval,

brokers already working the phones on Wall Street.

borzniki z Wall Streeta, ki so že viseli na telefonih.

1,700 of these people were pregnant women.

Od tega je bilo 1.700 nosečnic.

When the planes struck and the towers collapsed,

Ko sta letali zadeli in sta se stolpa porušila,

many of these women experienced the same horrors

je veliko teh žensk doživelo enako strahoto

inflicted on other survivors of the disaster --

kot drugi preživeli v tej katastrofi --

the overwhelming chaos and confusion,

neverjeten kaos in zmešnjavo,

the rolling clouds

valeče se oblake

of potentially toxic dust and debris,

potencialno strupenega prahu in ruševin,

the heart-pounding fear for their lives.

ter razbijanje srca v strahu za svoja življenja.

About a year after 9/11,

Približno leto dni po 11. septembru

researchers examined a group of women

so raziskovalci pregledali skupino žensk,

who were pregnant

ki so bile noseče,

when they were exposed to the World Trade Center attack.

ko so bile priča napadu na WTC.

In the babies of those women

V otrocih tistih žensk,

who developed post-traumatic stress syndrome, or PTSD,

ki so razvile posttravmatski sindrom (PTSD)

following their ordeal,

po tem doživetju,

researchers discovered a biological marker

so raziskovalci odkrili biološki znak

of susceptibility to PTSD --

nagnjenosti k PTSD --

an effect that was most pronounced

učinek, ki je bil najbolj očiten

in infants whose mothers experienced the catastrophe

pri dojenčkih, katerih matere so katastrofo doživele

in their third trimester.

v zadnjem trimestru nosečnosti.

In other words,

Z drugimi besedami,

the mothers with post-traumatic stress syndrome

matere s posttravmatskim sindromom

had passed on a vulnerability to the condition

so občutljivost na to stanje prenesle

to their children while they were still in utero.

na svoje otroke, ko so bili ti še v maternici.

Now consider this:

Zdaj pa razmislite o tem:

post-traumatic stress syndrome

posttravmatski sindrom

appears to be a reaction to stress gone very wrong,

je, kot kaže, zelo huda reakcija na stres,

causing its victims tremendous unnecessary suffering.

ki žrtvam povzroči ogromno nepotrebnega trpljenja.

But there's another way of thinking about PTSD.

Je pa še en pogled na PTSD.

What looks like pathology to us

Kar se nam zdi kot patologija,

may actually be a useful adaptation

je morda uporabna prilagoditev

in some circumstances.

na določene okoliščine.

In a particularly dangerous environment,

V posebej nevarnem okolju

the characteristic manifestations of PTSD --

lahko značilne manifestacije PTSD --

a hyper-awareness of one's surroundings,

hiper-zavedanje svojega okolja,

a quick-trigger response to danger --

hitro reagiranje na nevarnost --

could save someone's life.

rešijo življenje.

The notion that the prenatal transmission of PTSD risk is adaptive

Ideja, da je predporodni prenos rizika za PTSD prilagoditven,

is still speculative,

je še vedno le spekulativna,

but I find it rather poignant.

a meni se zdi precej ostra.

It would mean that, even before birth,

To bi pomenilo, da matere še pred rojstvom

mothers are warning their children

opozorijo svoje otroke,

that it's a wild world out there,

da jih čaka nevaren svet,

telling them, "Be careful."

in jim naročijo: "Bodi previden."

Let me be clear.

Naj bom čisto jasna.

Fetal origins research is not about blaming women

Raziskave o izvoru zarodkov niso namenjene obtoževanju žensk

for what happens during pregnancy.

za to, kar se zgodi med nosečnostjo.

It's about discovering how best to promote

Gre za odkrivanje, kako najbolje spodbujati

the health and well-being of the next generation.

zdravje in dobro počutje naslednje generacije.

That important effort must include a focus

Ta pomemben trud mora vsebovati osredotočanje

on what fetuses learn

na to, česa se zarodek nauči

during the nine months they spend in the womb.

v devetih mesecih, ki jih preživi v maternici.

Learning is one of life's most essential activities,

Učenje je ena bistvenih življenjskih dejavnosti

and it begins much earlier

in začne se mnogo bolj zgodaj,

than we ever imagined.

kot smo si kdajkoli predstavljali.

Thank you.

Hvala.

(Applause)

(Aplavz)