– Our history in prenatal brain growth and the needs of the mother:

To better understand these specific needs of the mother, we raised over £3 million to support research on maternal nutrition in China, , S. Korea , the Sudan , , and Thailand, Vietnam , . Work since 1990 has provided our colleagues and us with a perspective on poor maternal nutrition in the challenge of poverty and the rise in mental ill-health especially in children. In particular, it identified the supreme importance of the maternal nutrition and health prior to and around the time of conception and discovered a powerful predictor of preterm delivery allowing the identification of those at risk early in pregnancy or better, before conception and offering potential intervention.

Note in the images below, the high complexity of the brain developed from 28 to term at 40 weeks. Although the cells form early, they must locate to specific regions and make connections with each other through dendrite formation and synaptogenesis. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA – omega 3) has been shown to stimulate dendrite formation . It is primarily available in fish and sea food, again supporting the importance of fish and sea food before and in pregnancy,, despite false warnings of the FDA about mercury in fish.

– Maternal Nutrition and low birth-weight:

The Foundation has invested £3 million in delineating the relationship between maternal nutrition and low birth-weight. Another £6 million is needed to put into practice what we have learnt.

Low birth-weight and prematurity, especially being born small for gestational age is a well-known, high risk factor for prenatal brain damage or developmental disorder. The brain after all is the priority in the human species during prenatal development.

Recent studies at St Thomas’s Hospital have identified punctate lesions seen by MRI of the new born brain to be occurring with surprising frequency. Previously though unharmful, it now seems they predict the development of post-natal, motor disorder. It is surprising and tragic that so little attention has been given to maternal nutrition and health and prenatal brain development. Some 70% of the adult number of brain cells arrive before birth. Any damage or stunting prenatally is irreparable later.

– Successful intervention of a trial of nutrition and pregnancy :

The studies in the East-end concluded that poor maternal nutrition was a risk factor for low birth-weight independent of smoking, socio-economic status and ethnicity.

The results steered us towards a randomised controlled trial (RCT) of targeted micronutrients for pregnancy from first booking. The supplement led to a greater than 2 fold reduction in the proportion of babies born small for gestational age.

This successful RCT was the culmination of the research programme funded by the MCF, and conducted by the IBCHN with collaborators firstly with Professor Kate Costeloe and Dr Alison Leaf, at the Homerton Hospital Special Care Baby Unit in the East-end of London. It was later extended to the Newham General Hospital with Professor Ovrang Djahanbakhch director of obstetrics and gynaecology and Professor Keb Ghebremeskel and Dr Yeoju Min at the London Metropolitan University.