Beginning of the End - Ellen G. White

When the Angel appeared again, Manoah asked, "What will be
the boy's rule of life, and his work?" The previous instruction was
repeated--"Of all that I said to the woman let her be careful. ... All
that I commanded her let her observe."
To be sure that the promised child was properly qualified for
his important work, the habits of both the mother and the child
needed careful control. The habits of the mother will affect the child
for good or evil. She must be controlled by principle, practicing
temperance and self-denial, if she wants the best development for
her child. Unwise advisers will urge the mother to gratify every wish
and impulse, but by God's command the mother is placed under
solemn obligation to exercise self-control.
And fathers as well as mothers share in this responsibility. If
the parents are intemperate, the children often lack physical strength
and mental and moral power. Liquor drinkers and tobacco users may
transmit their intense craving, inflamed blood, and irritable nerves to
their children. Immoral people often pass along a legacy of unholy
desires and even terrible diseases to their children. Each generation
tends to fall lower and lower. To a great degree, parents are
responsible for the impairments of the thousands born deaf, blind,
diseased, or with mental disorders.
Many have not taken the effect of prenatal influence seriously,
but the instruction sent from heaven to those Hebrew parents shows
how our Creator views this matter.
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