Low Zinc Levels in Mom
Affect Baby's Bones

The findings from a new study suggest that pregnant women need to have adequate zinc levels to ensure optimal bone growth in their developing baby. For women from countries where zinc deficiency is common, taking zinc supplements can rectify this problem.

"Maternal zinc deficiency is relatively common in developing countries, but its consequences for fetal growth are not established," Dr. Laura E. Caulfield, of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and colleagues note in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Using ultrasound, the authors tested whether increasing zinc levels in women with a deficiency could improve fetal growth.

The study involved 242 pregnant women from Peru, a country where zinc deficiency is common. Early in pregnancy the women were randomly selected to receive vitamin supplements that did or did not contain zinc.

Fetuses of zinc-treated mothers showed much greater bone growth at the femur, or thigh bone, than fetuses of other mothers. The effect of zinc supplementation on femur growth increased with increasing gestational age.

Caulfield said in an interview that "what is unique here is that we were able to detect such effects in human fetuses using ultrasound technology." Our results suggest that maternal zinc levels have an effect on fetal bone growth, she added.

SOURCE: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, May 2004.

Reference Source 89

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