Nutrition for Fetal Health

Good nutrition is important at any time, but is particularlyconclusive and the research sample size was small,
vital for expecting mothers - in fact, a recent studythe results supported an earlier study looking into the
suggests that eating well and taking multi-vitamins maypossible causes of brain tumors in children.
be even more important at this time than wasThe research found that women who took
previously thought.supplements close to the time of conception, and who
As early as the 1950s, doctors began to recognize theate foods high in iron and folic acid, were less likely to
significance of folate, or folic acid, for fetuses in thehave children with two possible types of brain tumors -
earliest stages of development. Adequate levels ofmedulloblastoma and primitive neuroectodermal.
folic acid (a B vitamin) can help prevent neural tubeHowever, vitamins taken later in pregnancy did not
defects like spina bifida; unfortunately, the crucial timeseem to offer the same benefits.
period when it should be taken is often over before aThe study also looked at possible links between the
woman even realizes that's she's pregnant.consumption of cured meats (containing nitrates and
For that reason, it's recommended that all women ofnitrosamines) and brain tumors. These substances
child-bearing age ensure they're getting enough folichave been found to induce nervous system tumors in
acid. The task was made a little easier when folateanimals, but the research did not find a correlation
became a standard additive in flour-based foods suchbetween women who ate cured meats and the
as bread and pasta; but many women who aredevelopment of brain tumors in children.
pregnant or trying to conceive choose to supplementWomen in the United States and Canada were
their diet with a prenatal vitamin high in folic acid andinterviewed for this case-control study - 315 mothers
iron.of children who had been diagnosed with
Researchers have recently uncovered a similarmedulloblastoma or primitive neuroectodermal tumors
association between nutrition and the development ofbefore the age of six, as well as 315 mothers of age
childhood brain tumors. Although the study was notand area code-matched control subjects.