Is Eating Too Little Fiber During Pregnancy Bad for Baby's Brain Development?

Low fiber diet during pregnancy may ultimately delay your unborn baby's brain development, finds a new study. Certain nutrients -- including dietary fiber, vitamin C, and folic acid -- are often consumed in too small amounts. Previous research has shown that during pregnancy these nutrients are essential for the development of offspring.

Importance of Dietary Fiber during Pregnancy

The new study, published in Frontiers in Nutrition (1^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Maternal dietary fiber intake during pregnancy and child development: the Japan Environment and Children's Study

Go to source), found that neurodevelopmental delays correlated with the amount of dietary fiber expectant mothers did -- or did not -- consume during pregnancy. It showed that maternal dietary fiber insufficiency affected several domains related to children's brain function, including skills like communication, problem solving, and personal-social.

"Most pregnant women 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 (2^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Maternal Nutrition and Neurodevelopment: A Scoping Review

Go to source)."

In the study, the team analyzed more than 76,000 mother-infant pairs in Japan and 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. They found that the effect of maternal fiber undersupply was noticeable in several domains related to brain function.

The researchers also found delays in the development of large body part movement and coordination, as well as in the coordination of smaller muscles.

Eating ‘Fiber’ for Two

"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.

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"In addition, dietary fiber intake from supplements could not be investigated."

References:

1. Maternal dietary fiber intake during pregnancy and child development: the Japan Environment and Children's Study - (https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2023.1203669/full)
2. Maternal Nutrition and Neurodevelopment: A Scoping Review - (https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/13/10/3530)

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