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In pregnant women, the fundamental role of vitamin B12 for the harmonious development of the fetus , particularly its nervous system, is increasingly well documented and recognized. This is why it is important, when talking about vitamin B12, to avoid deficiencies.
In December 2020, a landmark study was published in the English journal Nutrition Research to highlight the relationship between the level of vitamin B12 in pregnant women during pregnancy and its consequences on the cognitive abilities of children, for several years after.
This is the first time in the world that such work linking mothers' vitamin B12 levels with their children's cognitive abilities has been carried out, over such a long period, with such a large cohort (12,000 women and their children).
The findings are presented below, but demonstrate the irreversible nature of vitamin B12 deficiencies during pregnancy on certain mental abilities of children.
In this article we will therefore return to the role of vitamin B12 in pregnant women, the risks of deficiencies for the future baby as well as the means available to have sufficient intake.
The role of vitamin B12 in the development of the unborn child
Vitamin B12 is involved in the metabolism of every cell in the human body, at any age.
She is involved in particular in:
- Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) methylation
- Myelination of neurons
- Fatty acid and amino acid metabolism
The importance of vitamin B12 in neurodevelopment is supported by case studies of deficient infants with cerebral atrophy and demyelination of nerve cells.
After vitamin B12 treatment, rapid improvement in neurological symptoms was reported, but many infants retained significant delays in cognitive and language development.
Therefore, expectant mothers should avoid vitamin B12 deficiency because this vitamin is particularly important for the normal functioning of the nervous system and plays an important role in the growth and development of the fetus's brain.
Consequences of vitamin B12 deficiency during pregnancy
We have taken up the results of the study mentioned above and published in December 2020 in the English journal Nutrition Research.
The rigorous scientific work of Jean Golding's team is based on cross-referencing data from 12,000 pregnant women* and the children born to them over a period of more than 10 years.
This study is fundamental because of the objective results it demonstrates:
More than 10 years after birth, some children affected by vitamin B12 deficiency during pregnancy retain certain lower cognitive abilities .
They show that children born to mothers whose vitamin B12 intake was the lowest (10%) had an increased risk of having:
- Insufficient vocabulary at 24 months
- Reduced ability to combine words at 38 months
- Poor speech intelligibility at age 6
- Poor understanding of mathematics between 8-9 years and 10-11 years
- Poor results in national math tests (age 13).
However, and fortunately, the study also shows that there are no such significant associations between vitamin B12 deficiency and reading or spelling abilities, nor for verbal or full-scale IQ (intelligence quotient) at ages 8 or 15.
Thus, the study establishes that the negative effects of a lack of vitamin B12 in the mother on the child's development are specific to certain language and mathematical abilities.
* from the longitudinal survey of parents and children 'ALSPAC'. The results were processed and analyzed using a statistical methodology that allows for the elimination as much as possible of sociological effects that interfere with children's cognitive abilities.
How to prevent vitamin B12 deficiency in pregnant women?
As we have mentioned, the diet of the expectant mother will have a direct influence on the child's development and health.
Also, toprevent vitamin B12 deficiencies in children , it is recommended that all pregnant women, regardless of their diet, have their dietary intake of vitamin B12 assessed and follow the recommendations of the health professional in charge of their monitoring.
For pregnant women on a vegetarian or vegan diet, vitamin B12 supplementation is an absolute must.
Vitamin B12 requirements in pregnant women
Pregnancy gradually increases the vitamin and mineral needs of the expectant mother because it provides the fetus with all the nutritional elements necessary for its growth.
This is why it is recommended that pregnant women increase their vitamin B12 intake by at least 10% compared to “adult” requirements.
The RDA (daily intake) dilemma for vitamin B12 in adults:
The official recommendations for vitamin B12 (RDA from ANSES in France, EFSA in Europe, and the American authorities) are 2.5 micrograms per day because they take into account dietary intake from meat products.
However, in the absence of vitamin B12 intake from meat products, the daily requirement for an adult is estimated at 10 micrograms per day. There is consensus among the various vegan nutrition associations on this point.
In pregnant women, knowing that there is no risk of overdose of vitamin B12 , a prudent recommendation is to have a total daily intake of:
- 5 micrograms for omnivores
- 10 micrograms for vegetarian and vegan diets.
Important note: the dose provided by vitamin B12 supplementation can be adjusted depending on the frequency of intake (daily, weekly, etc.).
To learn more about active and passive absorption mechanisms, we invite you to consult our article on this subject .
Sources:
- (1) Maternal prenatal vitamin B12 intake is associated with speech development and mathematical abilities in childhood: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S027153172030587X?via%3Dihub
- https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/food-nutrition/healthy-eating/nutrient-reference-intakes/tables/relative-reference-values-vitamins-nutrient-reference-intakes-tables-2005.html
- https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminB12-HealthProfessional/
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