Mom’s Nutrition Helps Ensure Healthy Birth, Healthy Child
Vitamins C and E reduce pre-eclampsia
When pregnant, women can have elevated blood pressure, a
condition called pre-eclampsia, which may require inducing labor or surgical
delivery. Doctors said antioxidants may lower chances of pre-eclampsia, and in
this study, 110 pregnant woman with low levels of antioxidants took 1,000 mg of
vitamin C plus 400 IU of vitamin E per day, or a placebo, from eight to 12
weeks pregnant through two weeks after giving birth. Nine of the woman
developed pre-eclampsia, with eight of the cases in the placebo group, and one
in the antioxidant group. Doctors concluded that women who are low in
antioxidants may reduce the chances of pre-eclampsia by taking antioxidants
during pregnancy .
Mom’s folate levels
may reduce emotional problems in children
Doctors know that low folate levels in early pregnancy increase
chances of neural tube defects, and wanted to test for a link to behavioral and
emotional problems in children. In 3,209 Dutch women, researchers measured
folic acid in the diet and folate levels in early pregnancy, and then followed
up on children’s emotional and behavioral problems at age three .
Compared to kids whose moms had good folate levels, those whose
moms were deficient in folate before pregnancy were 57 percent more likely to
develop emotional problems by age three. Compared to children whose moms
started taking folic acid supplements when pregnant, those whose mothers
started taking folic acid later during pregnancy, or who did not take folic
acid at all were 45 percent more likely to have emotional problems. The
Netherlands does not require manufacturers to fortify foods with folic acid .
Reference: Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research; May,
2012, Electronic Prepublication
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