Is maternal malnutrition tied to cerebral palsy risk?
Cerebral palsy is a group of disorders that affect a person’s ability to move and keep their balance. It often starts in early childhood and lasts a lifetime. Doctors know that problems during pregnancy or birth can raise the risk of cerebral palsy. One question researchers explore is whether a mother’s poor nutrition plays a role.
Malnutrition means not getting enough key nutrients like vitamins, minerals, iron, or overall calories. During pregnancy, this can affect how the baby grows and develops, especially the brain. A malnourished mother might have a baby with low birth weight or other issues that could link to brain problems.
Studies show links between maternal nutrition and child brain health, but direct ties to cerebral palsy are not clear from current evidence. For example, giving mothers multiple micronutrients, like iron, folic acid, and zinc during pregnancy and breastfeeding, can improve birth outcomes and reduce anemia in moms and babies. These nutrients support healthy brain growth. One review found that such supplements have small positive effects on children’s thinking skills later in life. However, the same studies do not mention cerebral palsy as an outcome.
Poor nutrition might harm fetal brain development in ways that overlap with cerebral palsy risks. Low levels of certain nutrients could lead to oxygen shortages or inflammation in the womb, which are known factors in cerebral palsy. Maternal obesity, the opposite of malnutrition, is also studied as a risk for neurodevelopmental issues in kids, showing that extremes in maternal health matter.
Folic acid is one nutrient often highlighted. It helps prevent birth defects in the brain and spine, like spina bifida. Some research looks at high doses of folic acid in pregnancy and its effects on child movement skills after age one, but results focus more on general development than cerebral palsy specifically.
Overall, while malnutrition raises risks for poor birth outcomes and brain development delays, no strong evidence directly connects it to higher cerebral palsy rates. More research is needed to see if fixing malnutrition through supplements lowers this specific risk. Doctors still recommend balanced diets and prenatal vitamins for all pregnant women to support baby health.
Sources:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12736284/
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jnc.70333?af=R
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/1919923
