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fatty acid units. Without water, hydrolysis cannot take place. It follows, then, that the hydrolytic function of water also constitutes the metabolism of water itself. What this means is that water itself needs to be broken down first— hydrolyzed—before the body can use the various components in food. This is why we need to supply the body with water before we eat solid foods.

CHAPTER 4
     
    WATER REGULATION OF A FETUS AND AN INFANT
     
    From the very moment of conception, when the father's sperm fuses with the mother's egg to form a single-cell unit of life, that cell has to divide, and divide, and divide millions of times over to develop into a form that can firmly connect itself to the uterine wall. By the time it grows to be a full-term baby, about a trillion cell divisions will have taken place. For this to happen, it has to impose a water-regulatory pattern for its needs on the mother's water-intake systems. Remember, each new cell that forms has to be filled up mainly with water. All of a sudden, the mother has to take in more water to supply the growing demands of the child. Even when the child is born, the mother has to provide the water needs of the infant through her milk-manufacturing system. The mother's breast is both a sort of water fountain for her child and a source of food.

     
    Figure 4.1: A graphic model of the proposed body-water regulation at the three major phases of life: the fetus, the growing child, and the fully developed person, using water versus dehydrating fluids.
     
    Early-Pregnancy Morning Sickness
     
    In light of the above information, how does a pregnant woman register her new level of water needs? I am going to share with you a secret that has never before been recognized. The early-pregnancy morning sickness of a pregnant woman is a most meaningful thirst signal. In fact, it is the very first sign of dehydration of the mother and fetus together. It is brought about by the water-regulatory action of histamine.
    This indication of the water needs of the growing fetus through the mother's sensory system is an important signal that connects the child's sensory system for its water needs to the mother's regulatory mechanisms. Most mothers adjust their water intake by the third month and the morning sickness disappears, but some don't and continue to live a life that promotes dehydration in the fetus as well as themselves. The consequences can be catastrophic.
    When a mother continues to drink coffee, tea, and alcohol during her pregnancy and does not take sufficient water, she influences the physiological pattern of the developing child in her uterus. The child draws the necessary ingredients for growth from the mother's pool of resources. The desperately needed ingredients include water, oxygen, and the amino acids that are available in the mother's circulation. Thus, the level of water intake and the composition of the amino acids made available during intrauterine life determine the assets of the growing child for natural development. These, in turn, establish a metering system that regulates the child's future growth and development.
    The importance of the role of the mother's lifestyle during the physiological development of the child in the uterus is not fully realized. The mother is responsible for the creation of a healthy, natural chemical environment in which the child can grow through all the necessary developmental stages from a single cell to a full-term baby.
    As we will learn later, the physiology and the chemical commands of stress in the body translate into an immediate adaptive and coping process to anticipated dehydration. Dehydration itself causes the body severe stress. The body establishes certain physiological and hormonal reactions to stress. The fetus is not protected from the physiological signals associated with the stresses of the mother. The indicators of stress that influence the mother's physiology and become the basis for her adaptive behavior also