Many factors affect a fetus's development. Some of those you can't change, such as their genetic makeup, hormone levels, and even environmental factors like the air quality where they live. However, other factors can impact the health and development of the fetus, and a big one is nutrition.  

An expectant mother's diet provides the essential building blocks for the baby's growth. A healthy diet also gives the mother energy, helping her body adjust to the demands of pregnancy.  

But what does it mean to have a healthy diet when you're pregnant? Nutritional needs shift while carrying a baby, and it's important to focus on certain foods to ensure you meet those needs.  

Understanding how your brain and nervous system functions helps to explain your physiological and psychological reactions to personal situations. In addition, gaining insight into the impact your social relationships have on your life is critical to understanding why you do the things you do. This knowledge then provides a basis for creating empathy in you toward other people and their motivations. 

The following article briefly describes relational neuroscience. You will also learn how studying this branch of knowledge helps you develop greater empathy toward people from other cultures and how they fit into U.S. culture. 

Vanessa Timmons has been a writer, activist, and women’s health advocate for over 25 years. She attended Marylhurst University’s Multidisciplinary Studies Program in Portland, Oregon, and has continued her formal education through certificates and training, including the Interpersonal Neurobiology of Trauma Certification Program at Portland State University. Vanessa has served as the Director of Programs at Raphael House of Portland, a Northwest regional field organizer for the National Organization for Women, and the domestic violence program coordinator for the Multnomah County Domestic Violence Coordination Office, in addition to serving OCADSV in the past as the Women of Color Coordinator and Board Chair.

All around the world, people face different types of crises every day. Some people lose their jobs. Others deal with the death or sickness of loved ones. Still, others suffer from untreated mental illnesses pushing them closer and closer to despair. When people start thinking about suicide as their only option, they need help.  

The human brain constantly develops throughout our lifetimes, starting while we're still in the womb. It forms one million neural connections every second of every day, and the body then reduces those connections to create the most efficient brain pathways.

Biology impacts the way humans act because it motivates them toward activities and actions that benefit the personal survival and reproduction of the species; therefore, if you understand how the people in your orbit function biologically, you may determine their motivations for their behavior. 

Kristin Henningsen, MS, RH (AHG), E-RYT, IYT,  is a clinical herbalist, yoga therapist, writer, & educator, who first fell in love with plants in the desert southwest.  There she was inspired to complete her graduate work, researching the Ethnobotany of the region.  In addition to studying Indigenous herbal medicine in the Southwest, she has worked in academia and for non-profit organizations in the field of botanical research all over the country.  

Interpersonal neurobiology (IPNB) seeks to explain how the nervous system and the brain develop. IPNB seeks to explain how the mind, brain, and relationships act together and how they change throughout life. Also known as relational neurobiology, it developed in the 1990s and has gained credence in the following decades.  

This post discusses IPNB and its practical implications in managing daily living. It will cover what lessons you can learn through PCC's course and how this knowledge is beneficial.  

PCC's 200-hour yoga teacher class certifies people for yoga teaching. The course also lays a solid legal and foundational basis to take the 300-hour yoga teacher certification course and become a 500-hour RYT. Taking PCC's 200-hour yoga teacher class also equips you with pertinent knowledge to make your students reach their wellness potential.  

Brandy Cummings, MS, CN, NC, CKNS, BCHN, CGP

Brandy is a graduate of Bauman college, earned her MS in Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine, and is a current doctoral student studying Clinical Nutrition at the University of Western States. Additionally, she is Board Certified in Holistic Nutrition, a Certified Nutritionist in Washington state, a Certified AIP Coach, a Certified Gluten-free practitioner, a Certified Ketogenic Nutrition Specialist, and has passed her Certified Nutrition Specialist exam. 

Brandy specializes in epigenetics and  environment-rooted disorders and conditions such as mycotoxin and biotoxin illness, parasitic infections, lyme disease and coinfections, and how these can impact a person’s life from preconception to postpartum and beyond. She has coined this phase of one’s life as the Pan-natal® phase and clearly defines an up-to-date, effective, and life-changing health journey and roadmap so that people can not only impact their health and well being, but also their children, and future generations to come. 

Brandy’s mission in life is to improve the health of future generations and believes the ultimate in preventative medicine is to support the lives of parents before their children are born. Brandy is the owner of Pivotal Origins where she supports families 1:1 as well as teaches classes in her local community. Brandy is also the lead Nutritionist with The Self-Esteem Project which focuses on improving the health of communities through animated education nutrition content in K-6 schools.