Indian culture involves many beautiful and spiritual ancient rituals. One of such prenatal rituals is Garbh Sanskar, which is performed for the pregnant mother. The etymology of the word comes from Sanskrit word garbh meaning the foetus in the womb and sanskar meaning to refine or educate the mind. So garbh sanskar essentially means educating the baby and inculcating positive thoughts and values while he or she is still within the mother’s womb.

What is Garbh Sanskar and why is it done?

As per traditional beliefs a child’s mental and spiritual development begins while he is still in the womb and it is at this time that his personality also takes shape. This knowledge which dates back to Ayurveda is now even accepted scientifically. Science has come to accept that a fetus is a highly responsive and evolving life form capable of understanding and responding to external stimuli. Also research has shown that 60% of a baby’s brain development happens inside the womb. In Indian culture, we believe that the moral education should begin when the baby is not even born. Even in the Hindu epic Mahabharata, it is said that Abhimanyu learned the war skills while he was still in his mother’s womb, when his father Arjun was explaining the ‘chakravyuh’ formation to his mother. It is said that Prahalad’s mother used to listen to devotional songs when she was pregnant with him, which is why he was a true ‘vishnu bhakt’ inspite of being born in the Asura clan. Doctors also believe that the hormonal secretions activated by the mother’s thoughts also affect the foetus. Also Read: How to deal with midnight hunger during pregnancy?

Ways to do Garbh Sanskar at home

While you may instinctively know that staying happy and positive and doing things that keep you peaceful influence the unborn fetus positively; there are certain specific actions and lifestyle changes that form a part of Garbh Sanskar and can be conveniently followed at home. These are:

#1. Read spiritual books

Read some religious books aloud to allow the baby to hear you. Don’t be surprised, your baby can hear you when he is seven months of age in your womb. Not only that, the baby can respond to the outside voices too. Reading out a spiritual book will inculcate positive thoughts and feelings in him. Your mind will also attain some peace and calm. It is best to avoid reading horror or thriller genre, so as to retain a calm and peaceful state of mind.

#2. Listen to music

This is another magnificent way to bring delight to your baby. As per Kelly Kasper, the MD, ob-gyn, and the associate clinical professor at the Indiana University School of Medicine, “If a mom plays music that she likes, it relaxes her and decreases the stress she’s feeling,”. The babies in the womb like music. Also, there are several scientific studies that talk about the fact that the music makes the baby in the womb smarter, though this is still debatable. However, scientists do accept that mother’s stress can pass on to the baby by way of hormonal changes and thus relaxing music can definitely help. This is the reason why many mothers listen to the spiritual music like Gayatri Mantra, hanuman chalisa, and other bhajans when they are expecting.

#3. Healthy diet

The baby in the womb eats what you eat. Whatever you eat will affect your baby directly. The third way to do Garbh Sanskar at home is to start “sattvic” diet or a “pure” diet during pregnancy. In this kind of diet, you need to eat fresh meals consisting of fresh fruits and vegetables. Also, in this kind of diet the focus is on eating food containing essential vital nutrients, that too in the balanced proportions. You are allowed to eat all flavors including sweet, bitter, sour, salty, pungent and astringent. Though, you must avoid spicy and fermented foods especially that contain preservatives. This diet helps keep the baby healthy and also avoids risk of infections and diseases. Also Read: 7 Useful Home Remedies to Cure Cough and Cold during Pregnancy

#4. Practice Yoga

Prenatal yoga is said to help create a bond between the unborn baby and the mother. It also helps the mother to feel relaxed and calm. This sense of well-being and calmness also passes to the baby and thus regular gentle yoga is an important part of the garbh sanskar. Yoga is also said to help in a healthy pregnancy and a natural delivery. You can start doing prenatal yoga, after a proper consultation with your doctors. It will also be best to perform the yoga poses under an expert’s supervision.

#5. Meditation

Pregnancy can be a time of huge physical and emotional changes and to cope with these, you can take solace in mediation to get tranquil and bring a sense of calm. Meditation helps in developing positive thoughts and is also said to aid the physical, emotional, and spiritual health of the baby. It is believed that meditation increases the life force or the ‘prana’ in the body and builds strength in both the mother and the baby.

#6. Bond with the child

If you think that it is pointless to talk to the unborn baby, you are wrong. This is the time to create a beautiful bond with your baby. They listen and respond much more than what we think and perceive.To bond with the baby, make it a point to gently talk to your unborn baby. The baby will be delighted to hear your voice and this will make him/her attached to you quickly after birth. In fact, as per a theory, the reason why the hearing ability of the baby is developed in the womb is to help him bond with his parents. Also Read: Will Drinking Ghee Help in Normal Delivery?

#7. Be positive and channel your creativity

Being positive and creative during your pregnancy will keep you relaxed and as per Garbh Sanskar beliefs this creativity gets passed on to your baby too. Chanting mantras and positive affirmations and occupying yourself in hobbies like painting, pottery, gardening can be great stress busters and keeps you happy through your pregnancy. So adopt these practices and start Garbh Sanskar at home for complete physical, emotional and spiritual development of your baby and a happy pregnancy. Want to share your mommy experience with other moms through words or images? Become a part of the Moms United community. Click here and we will get in touch with you

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