How Do Genetic Factors Affect the Shape of Your Baby?

Medical Video: Dr. Steve Suomi : Genetic and Environmental Connection

When you are pregnant, you must be wondering, your baby's face will be more like you or his father? Will he have straight hair like you or curly hair like his father? Have eyes like you or have slanted eyes like his father?

This is a surprise for you and your partner when the baby is born. What is clear, your baby will look like your mix with your partner. Yes, the baby gets 23 chromosomes from his mother and 23 more from his father. With all possible combinations of genes, you and your partner have the potential to produce 64 trillion different children's appearances, so that every child you give birth has a different face because of the many possibilities. However, for other characteristics such as height, weight, and personality, the environment also influences the formation of the child's appearance in addition to genetic or hereditary factors.

Eye color

Eye color is determined by melanin or brown pigment on the iris. Dark-colored eyes indicate that the melanin pigment is in large amounts, the color of blue eyes indicates very little amount of melanin, and other colors such as green have varying amounts of melanin.

Different genes may be responsible for how much chocolate pigment you inherit, and where it appears to the eye, so your child is more likely to have a different eye color from you. Babies need at least 6 months to bring out the actual eye color.

Hair color

In general, Indonesians have black hair color. Hair color is the same as eye color determined by pigments, so your baby's hair color is a mixture of your hair color pigments and your partner's. Parents with the same hair color may have babies with the same hair color as them, or rather different but still in the same color range.

However, maybe the child also has a different hair color from his parents. This occurs when a recessive gene (a gene that is not visible / hidden) from one parent mixes with the genes of another parent. As you know, there are two types of genes, namely dominant genes and recessive genes, where the dominant gene will cover the recessive gene so that what is seen or expressed is the dominant gene. Come on ... try to remember biology lessons in junior high school.

Face and body shape

Facial characteristics, such as dimples, forehead shape, and facial symmetry are believed to be dominant and inherited from generation to generation. The shape of the hands, fingers and nails also appear from generation to generation. In addition, fingerprint patterns are also derived through genetics. The shape of the jaw and the slope of the teeth are also genetically determined. Face shapes, such as having a sharp chin, round face, or long face can also be inherited between generations in your family.

However, the baby's initial appearance can change at any time. Maybe at birth your child is more like his father, but later when he gets older your child can be more like you. Who knows, because baby's face, hair, eyes, and others can still experience many changes.

Height and weight

Research shows that genetic factors are related to height, weight, percent body fat, free fat mass, total bone mass, even blood pressure. This means that your child's height and weight are influenced by your height and weight that you and your partner have.

Some say that a boy's height will not be far from his father's height, while a girl's height will not be far from the height of her mother's. However, this cannot be confirmed. However, still height is influenced by heredity, although it may not be predictable whether the child's height will be the same, shorter or higher with his father or mother.

Not only hereditary factors that affect height and weight, but also environmental factors, such as nutritional status and health. And not only nutrition and health when the child grows, but also the nutrition and health of the mother during pregnancy play an important role in determining the height and weight of the child. Therefore, pay attention to your nutrition and health while pregnant so that your child's growth and development is optimal.

Research shows that genetic factors affect height, weight, and body mass index in low percent at birth, but over time will increase with age. On the contrary, the influence of the environment is greater at birth and will then decrease its influence.

READ ALSO: