The stakes have
always been high for pregnant women.
Eat right, gain
the right amount of weight, take your vitamins and forgo cigarettes and
cocktails, they've heard, and you should be rewarded with a healthy pregnancy
and a healthy baby.
But lately,
the stakes have gotten even higher. The newest research suggests that what
women do — and especially what they eat — before and during pregnancy can
have long-term consequences for their children. The research paints a particularly
worrisome picture for women who are overweight, follow a poor diet or struggle
with blood sugar.
For example:
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Pregnant women who had above-normal
blood sugar levels, but not diabetes, were twice as likely to have children
who were overweight at ages 5 to 7, a study in the journal Diabetes Care
reported.
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Women who were overweight before
pregnancy were more likely to have children with high levels of body fat
at age 9, no matter how much weight the women gained during pregnancy,
a study in the Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism said.
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Women who were asked to eat
a diet very low in carbohydrates and very high in protein (including a
pound of red meat a day) had children who, in middle age, had an increased
risk of high blood pressure and exaggerated physical responses to stress,
another report in the Journal of Endocrinology & Metabolism reported
Genes and the environment
beyond the womb — including the food children eat — play roles, of course.
But the idea that "you are what your mother ate" is gaining scientific
ground.
"There is going
to be an avalanche of information" about the link in coming years, says
David Barker, an adjunct professor of medicine at Oregon Health & Science
University. He is the most vocal proponent of that link, which is sometimes
called "the Barker hypothesis."
Barker says
studies have linked adult heart disease, diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure
and osteoporosis to low birth weight and poor prenatal nutrition. But the
newest concerns are about overweight but poorly nourished women giving
birth to oversized babies with too much fat on their bodies. Those overweight
babies could be tomorrow's obese, diabetic adults.
Obstetrician
Patrick Catalano, who runs a high-risk pregnancy clinic in Cleveland, says
that although there's still more research to do, he tells his patients
that controlling their weight and blood sugar can produce long-term health
benefits for their children.
When a baby
is born with too much body fat, Catalano tells parents to "watch your child's
diet and activities because your baby is going to have an increased risk."
But earlier
prevention is better prevention. His best advice for overweight women:
"Lose the weight before you get pregnant" through diet and exercise.
That can be
tough. And eating exactly the right things is impossible, because no one
knows what that is, says Michael Katz, senior vice president for research
at the March of Dimes. Case in point: the debate about how much fish is
ideal for pregnant women.
The woman who
frets about "producing a healthy 50-year-old" every time she picks up her
fork may be tempted to just "run screaming for the nearest McDonalds,"
says Heidi Murkoff, author of the What to Expect books for pregnant women
and new parents.
But for most
healthy women, "eating well when you're expecting isn't that different
from eating well at any other time," she says. Think lean protein, low-fat
dairy foods, fruits, vegetables and whole grains — and cut yourself some
slack when struggling with morning sickness, heartburn, aversions and cravings.
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Copyright
2007 by United Press International.
All rights reserved.
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