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Author Spotlight: Studying the Impact of Maternal Dietary Deficiencies on Long-Term Offspring Health Outcomes
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Author Spotlight: Studying the Impact of Maternal Dietary Deficiencies on Long-Term Offspring Health Outcomes

Published on: June 28, 2024

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Vitamin B-12 and Perinatal Health

Julia L Finkelstein1, Alexander J Layden2, Patrick J Stover2

  • 1Division of Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY; and St. John's Research Institute, St. John's National Academy of Health Sciences, Bangalore, India jfinkelstein@cornell.edu.

Advances in Nutrition (Bethesda, Md.)
|September 17, 2015
PubMed

Insights

Maternal vitamin B-12 deficiency is linked to serious pregnancy and infant health issues. More research is crucial to understand these links and guide public health interventions for better outcomes.

Area of Science:

  • Obstetrics and Gynecology
  • Maternal-Fetal Medicine
  • Nutritional Science

Background:

  • Vitamin B-12 deficiency (<148 pmol/L) is prevalent and linked to adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes.
  • Adequate vitamin B-12 is critical for neural myelination, fetal brain development, and growth.
  • Maternal insufficiency (<200 pmol/L) can cause irreversible infant developmental impairments.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review existing evidence linking maternal vitamin B-12 status to perinatal outcomes.
  • To highlight the need for further research into the causal mechanisms of these associations.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of studies examining maternal vitamin B-12 status and perinatal outcomes.
  • Analysis of evidence from prospective studies and randomized trials.

Main Results:

  • Few prospective studies and only one randomized trial have investigated vitamin B-12 supplementation during pregnancy.
  • Existing evidence suggests a strong association between vitamin B-12 deficiency and adverse pregnancy and neonatal outcomes.

Conclusions:

  • The precise role of vitamin B-12 in the etiology of adverse perinatal outcomes requires further elucidation.
  • Understanding these mechanisms is essential for developing effective public health interventions.

Keywords:
child healthcobalaminone-carbon metabolismpregnancyvitamin B-12

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