Study warns maternal anaemia could have lasting effects on children’s brain development

A new study has found that babies born to mothers with anaemia have smaller brains than those born to mothers without the condition, raising concerns about the possible effects on children’s learning, development and ability to manage emotions. The finding comes from researchers at King’s College London in the UK and the University of Cape Town in South Africa, who followed more than 300 mothers and their babies in Cape Town. The babies underwent brain scans several times between three months and two years of age, allowing researchers to track how their brains developed. The scans showed that babies whose mothers had anaemia had brain volumes that were, on average, 4 per cent smaller than those of babies whose mothers did not have anaemia. This was recorded even though the mothers diagnosed with anaemia had only mild cases of the condition.