How good nutrition before conception can affect up to three generations

Mirchi • Updated: 25 min ago • Follow

We usually lay a lot of emphasis on the pregnancy and post-partum diet, however a new study suggests that a gene called VTRNA20-1 which is responsible for reducing the risk of future diseases for a developing baby is directly related to nutritional status of a mother before pregnancy.

Here’s what Arooshi Garg, Lifestyle Expert, GOQii has to say about it.

A mother’s pre-pregnancy diet is directly related to the foetus’ genetic makeup and immunity. If a mother is nutritionally deficient before conception, it may lead to radical and permanent change in the unborn child’s genetic makeup responsible for immunity and future risk of cancer.
A mother’s environment, nutritional intake, and mental health status determines the long term health of the unborn child.

Few nutrients are said to be extremely essential for a healthy pregnancy and should be included in a women’s diet in the pre-pregnancy period. Some babies are born with spina bifida, brain defects, preterm births, or underweight babies which is directly related to a mother’s pre-pregnancy weight and nutritional adequacy.

As soon as the egg is fertilized the embryo starts using the mother’s nutrient stores to support its growth. Essential nutrients like Zinc, Iron, Folic acid are needed to support development and growth of main body organs in developing foetus.

Overweight or obese women have an increased risk for pregnancy induced diabetes or high blood pressure which can again lead to improper foetal development. Which might affect generations to come!

Folic acid is a very essential nutrient found in nuts, legumes, orange and yellow fruits. It is important for the development of the brain and spinal cord of the baby. Deficiency of which can cause Neural tube defects or Spina bifida where the backbone encasing the spinal cord doesn’t develop properly exposing the spinal cord. This can lead to intellectual disability or paralysis which might be carried on to generations to come as a hereditary issue.

Similarly, Iron is required in good amounts in maternal stores to prepare a mother’s body for the needs of the foetus during pregnancy. A diet poor in iron or heavy menstrual cycle bleeding may lead to deficiency. A good iron reserve ensures that the blood supply in the developing baby is proper and any blood loss that happens during delivery doesn’t prove to be fatal for the new mother.

Calcium is another important nutrient that is required to be present in maternal reserves. Soon after conception, the embryo starts drawing minerals like calcium, zinc and magnesium for the mother’s body. Inadequacy of these nutrients might lead to poor bone development, poor muscle and nerve fibre expansion. In turn the mother’s bones also weaken, putting them at risk or osteoarthritis in future.

In short, if a mother’s diet and nutritional status are poor before conception, it might lead to a plethora of adverse outcomes that might continue for generations to come.
I hope this write-up helps to-be mothers to lay more focus on correcting their nutrition before conceiving which helps them as well as their unborn babies to be at a lesser risk for any genetic or nutrition-induced life threatening outcomes!

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