Anaemia in pregnancy may affect not only the mother but the development of her baby's brain, according to new research reported by Bangla Tribune. Children of mothers who were anaemic during pregnancy had total brain volumes on average about 4 percent smaller than those of children whose mothers were not.
The study was carried out by researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King's College London and the University of Cape Town in South Africa. The brains of children from 394 mother-child pairs in Cape Town were scanned several times between the ages of three months and two years. Most of the mothers' anaemia was mild.
Significant differences were found in three regions, the putamen, the caudate nucleus and the corpus callosum, which are linked to movement, learning, emotional control, information processing and communication between the brain's two halves. At 12 months the corpus callosum was about 4 percent smaller, a gap that widened to about 6 percent at 24 months. The researchers say the findings should not be read as a guarantee of later cognitive problems.
By the World Health Organization's latest estimate, 30.7 percent of women aged 15 to 49 and 35.5 percent of pregnant women worldwide were anaemic in 2023. Iron deficiency is the most common nutritional cause, though infection, inflammation and chronic disease also play a part. The WHO stresses adequate iron and folic acid in pregnancy, and the report says any supplements and doses should follow a doctor's advice.
The study also tested technology: the researchers used portable 'low-field' MRI scanners, cheaper and easier to move than standard hospital machines, which detected the same differences. That could make it easier to monitor child brain development in places with few facilities, the researchers say.
Source: Bangla Tribune
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