Early childhood weight affected by mother's diet during pregnancy

August 27, 2022

The study complements our previous work that identified fetal head growth trajectories associated with different developmental, behavioural, visual and growth outcomes at 2 years of age. In simple terms: the growth of babies’ bodies and brain track separately and early - while still within the womb’. The finding of an association with maternal lipid metabolism early in pregnancy also provides unique insights into how the mother’s health and diet influence her child’s adiposity’. Very importantly, in both studies, the same critical time period close to the 5th month of pregnancy is the starting point for accelerated or decelerated fetal growth that is sustained into early childhood. The full paper, ‘Association between fetal abdominal growth trajectories, maternal metabolite signatures early in pregnancy, and childhood growth and adiposity: prospective observational multinational INTERBIO-21st fetal study', can be read in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology.

The source of this news is from University of Oxford