Perfect babies. Part 3, Perfect baby.

The quest for a perfect baby begins before birth, notonly with good ante-natal care but with attempts to 'educate' the foetus through the use of music and massage to develop the unborn child's communication skills. The Foresight system promotes the use of many vitamin and mineral supplements by the prospective mother both to aid conception and prevent malformation of the foetus and premature birth. Prof. David Barker (Medical Research Council) is interested in the idea that undernourishing the foetus in early pregnancy may be beneficial as this stimulates the mother's body to work harder to producea big placenta, to support the baby in later pregnancy. Foetal surgery to correct a cardiac problem in an unborn baby is shown. Women who suffer repeated miscarriage can be helped through a clinic at St. Mary's Hospital, Paddington where it may be possible to detect the cause of miscarriage and take preventive action. St. Mary's is also carrying out a new technique to measure the physical and mental well being of young babies. Scenes of childbirth are shown and Prof. Philip Steer, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, discusses the advantages to the mother of Caesarian delivery. Finally, at the Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential, Philadelphia, babies as young as 8 weeks are given verbal and visual stimulation to develop their intelligence.