Easy Health Options Staff | Mar 15, 2012 | Comments 2
While maintaining a healthy weight is important for everyone, multiple studies have shown that it is particularly important for women who are trying to get pregnant to avoid obesity; it may impact their own health as well as that of their child. For example, a December study published in Seminars in Perinatology found that many obese women tend to be deficient in the vitamins needed for a healthy pregnancy.Now, researchers from the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center have discovered that maternal obesity is associated with cognitive impairment in extremely premature babies, which is defined as babies who are born before 28 weeks of gestation. The scientists found that both a mother’s weight and socioeconomic background may be contributing to a baby’s cognitive function.
“We weren’t really surprised by the socioeconomic factors because it has been repeatedly shown that social disadvantage predicts worse infant outcomes,” said lead author Jennifer Helderman, M.D.
“However, obesity is of particular interest because it is becoming more prevalent and it is potentially modifiable during the pre-conception period and pregnancy.”
The researchers noted that there are more than 30,000 extremely premature babies born in the U.S. each year.
http://www.easyhealthoptions.com/weight-loss/as-moms-weight-goes-up-babys-brain-function-drops/
