A common belief about pregnancy is that if the mother does not eat enough calories in early pregnancy the baby will extract what he or she needs from the mother's reserves. The latest research from the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (SFBR) disproves that belief and underscores the vital role of nutrition in pregnancy.
Pregnancy Diet Affects Baby's Brain in Multiple Ways
SFBR scientists decided to use nonhuman primates in the study since the brain development stages are very close to the human fetus. When conducting the study, baboon mothers were separated into two groups. One group was able to eat as they wished during the first half of pregnancy. The others were fed a pregnancy diet of about 30% less food, an amount researchers explain is comparable to what many expectant mothers in the US consume.
According to the research results, the restricted diet in the early half of pregnancy produced negative affects in the baby's brain development in multiple ways. SFBR scientists discovered reduced formation of cell-to-cell connections, amounts of growth factors and cell division in the babies' brains whose mothers were fed a restricted pregnancy diet.
International Research Team Examines Role of Pregnancy Nutrition
This compelling study on nutrition and its affect on pregnancy was released on January 17, 2011 and published in the current issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences with funding provided by the NIH and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The international research team included scientists from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA) as well as those from the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, Germany.
The collaboration between the two organizations played an important role in the study findings. According to Laura Cox from SFBR, “Our collaboration allowed us to determine that the nutritional environment impacts the fetal brain at both the cellular and molecular levels. That is, we found dysregulation of hundreds of genes, many of which are known to be key regulators in cell growth and development, indicating that nutrition plays a major role during fetal development by regulating the basic cellular machinery.”
Long-Term Health, Behavior and IQ Affected by Pregnancy Nutrition
Experts believe that the results of this study suggest that the role of pregnancy nutrition has implications for the growing child's health and development into adulthood. Recognized expert and author in the field of prenatal nutrition Peter Nathanielisz, MD, PhD explains that the nutrient supply can be lower in both a teen pregnancy or in a late in life pregnancy (due to stiffer arteries). Complications such as pregnancy-induced hypertension and preeclampsia can cause a decrease in placental functioning and cause further reduction in nutrient flow to the baby.
Nathanielisz's research has shown that pregnancy diet restrictions can play a significant role in the development of obesity, heart disease and even diabetes. The latest findings from the SFBR may lead scientists to examine how nutrition in pregnancy may have a hand in the development of autism, depression, schizophrenia as well as other neurological disorders.
Brenda Lane - Brenda Lane is a published author, Lamaze certified childbirth educator, DONA certified birth doula and approved birth doula trainer.
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