Diet During Pregnancy and Lactation
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than to do without it. In some cases, even a small amount of the least
hurtful meat would do less injury than to suffer strong cravings for it.
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 37-38
When the Lord would raise up Samson as a deliverer of His people,
He enjoined upon the mother correct habits of life before the birth of
her child. And the same prohibition was to be imposed, from the first,
upon the child; for he was to be consecrated to God as a Nazarite from
his birth.
The angel of God appeared to the wife of Manoah, and informed
her that she should have a son; and in view of this He gave her the
important directions: “Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink
not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing.”
God had important work for the promised child of Manoah to do,
and it was to secure for him the qualifications necessary for this work,
that the habits of both the mother and the child were to be so carefully
regulated. “Neither let her drink wine nor strong drink,” was the angel’s
instruction for the wife of Manoah, “nor eat any unclean thing; all that
I commanded her let her observe.” The child will be affected for good
or evil by the habits of the mother. She must herself be controlled by
principle, and must practice temperance and self-denial, if she would
seek the welfare of her child.
The Ministry of Healing, 372-373
The effect of prenatal influences is by many parents looked upon
[31]
as a matter of little moment; but heaven does not so regard it. The
message sent by an angel of God, and twice given in the most solemn
manner, shows it to be deserving of our most careful thought.
In the words spoken to the Hebrew mother, God speaks to all
mothers in every age. “Let her beware,” the angel said; “all that I
command her, let her observe.” The well-being of the child will be
affected by the habits of the mother. Her appetites and passions are
to be controlled by principle. There is something for her to shun,
something for her to work against, if she fulfills God’s purpose for
her in giving her a child. If before the birth of her child she is self-
indulgent, if she is selfish, impatient, and exacting, these traits will