Low fibre intake during pregnancy may delay development in infants' brains
"Our results show that nutritional guidance for pregnant mothers is crucial to reduce the risk of future health problems for their children"
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Children whose mothers' consume low-fibre diets during pregnancy are significantly more likely to show neurodevelopmental delays - with poorer motor, social, language and communication and problem-solving skills at 3 years of age, compared with children born to mothers whose pregnancy diets provided the most dietary fibre.The analyses controlled for numerous other factors* relevant to these developmental outcomes. The researchers further showed that the association between low fibre intake was independent of maternal folic acid, but acknowledged that other aspects of nutrition may well have contributed to their findings, as low-fibre diets (i.e. those that are low in whole or minimally processed foods) also lack vitamins, minerals and other essential nutrients.
Only 1 in 12 of the mothers consumed the recommended amount of dietary fibre (18 grams per day) - and only 1 in 8 met recommended intakes of folic acid.
These findings are consistent with abundant other evidence that modern, western-type diets, high in ultra-processed foods that lack dietary fibre and other essential nutrients can compromise children's brain development.
As the authors emphasise "nutritional guidance for pregnant mothers is crucial to reduce the risk of future health problems for their children"
Poor nutrition in early life - and particularly the mother's nutritional status before conception and throughout pregnancy is now known to have lifelong consequences for children's physical and mental health and development.
Despite this, most mothers-to be even in rich, developed countries fail to meet basic requirements for many essential nutrients, and the dietary fibre needed to support healthy gut, brain and immune system development.
Nature only provides one chance to build a baby's brain and body - and particularly the brain - as more than 70% of the brain cells an adult possesses were made before they were even born.
This situation therefore represents a global public health failure that is literally 'feeding' the current global mental health crisis - as was predicted more than 50 years ago. For more information on this - and practical solutions to reverse this crisis, see:
For further information on nutrition in pregnancy please see:
See also:
* The link between low-fibre diets in pregnancy and poor neurodevelopmental oucomes for the resulting children was independent of:
pre-pregnancy BMI, maternal education, maternal smoking and drinking during pregnancy, annual household income, older siblings, maternal age at birth, gestational age at birth, birth weight, child's sex, attendance at a childcare facility at the age of 1 year, and breastfeeding until the age of 1 year, maternal mental health during pregnancy and when her child was 1 year of age, caretaker other than the child's mother at 1 year of age, and attachment bond when her child was 1 year of age
pre-pregnancy BMI, maternal education, maternal smoking and drinking during pregnancy, annual household income, older siblings, maternal age at birth, gestational age at birth, birth weight, child's sex, attendance at a childcare facility at the age of 1 year, and breastfeeding until the age of 1 year, maternal mental health during pregnancy and when her child was 1 year of age, caretaker other than the child's mother at 1 year of age, and attachment bond when her child was 1 year of age
27/07/23 - Medical Xpress
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Undernutrition during pregnancy is one of the factors linked to an increased risk of diseases in children as they grow older. Yet, maternal malnutrition remains a problem for women worldwide.
Undernutrition during pregnancy is one of the factors linked to an increased risk of diseases in children as they grow older. Yet, maternal malnutrition remains a problem for women worldwide.
Animal studies have shown that a low-fiber diet during pregnancy impairs brain nerve function in offspring. Now, in the first human cohort study on the relation of maternal nutritional imbalance and infants' brain development, researchers in Japan have investigated if the same effects can be found in humans.
"Most pregnant women in Japan consume far less dietary fiber than what is the recommended intake," said Dr. Kunio Miyake, a researcher at the University of Yamanashi and first author of the study published in Frontiers in Nutrition. "Our results provided reinforcing evidence that undernutrition during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of neurodevelopmental delay in children."
Fiber for brain development
Miyake et al. compared the development of children whose mothers had the highest intake of dietary fiber to groups of mothers who consumed successively less fiber during pregnancy.
In comparison to the highest-intake group, the children of mothers in the low-intake groups were more likely to show neurodevelopmental delays. The effect of maternal fiber undersupply was noticeable in several domains related to brain function. Affected were communication skills, problem solving skills, and personal-social skills. The researchers also found delays in the development of large body part movement and coordination, as well as in the coordination of smaller muscles.
The researchers' results are based on the analysis of more than 76,000 mother-infant pairs from the Japan Environment and Children's Study. It is an ongoing project aiming to elucidate how the environment affects children's health.
To collect dietary information about the participants, the scientists used a food frequency questionnaire, which asked respondents about their dietary status during the second and third trimester of pregnancy. Developmental delays were assessed in another questionnaire that was sent to parents once their children were three years old. Based on parents' answers, the researchers showed the correlation of maternal fiber intake and child brain development.
Nutritional guidance is crucial
The researchers also found that the median dietary fiber intake in Japan is just over 10 grams a day. Only 8.4% of Japanese pregnant women consumed enough fiber. They also pointed out that the recommended fiber intake for pregnant women varies: While in Japan the recommended daily dietary fiber intake is 18 grams each day, it is 28 grams in the US and Canada. "Our results show that nutritional guidance for pregnant mothers is crucial to reduce the risk of future health problems for their children," said Miyake.
The researchers also pointed to certain limitations of their study. "Human studies cannot assess the effects of dietary fiber alone. Although this study considered the impact of folic acid intake during pregnancy, the possibility of other nutrients having an impact cannot be completely ruled out," Miyake pointed out. "In addition, dietary fiber intake from supplements could not be investigated."
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