It is not necessary to eat for two as it is usually said, but eating a balanced and healthy diet during pregnancy has many benefits, both for the mother and for the baby. A study indicates that Eating well in pregnancy reduces the risk of heart disease in the baby.
Heart disease is heart disease, which includes many different cardiovascular disorders. Congenital heart disease affects about 1% of children in the United States, and one in four affected dies during childhood. The research concludes that a healthy diet before pregnancy is related to a lower rate of certain cardiac abnormalities in babies at birth.
The study has been published in "Archives of Disease in Childhood (Fetal and Neonatal Edition)". The researchers had data from around 19,000 women about the quantity and quality of their diet in the year prior to their pregnancy. The participants were part of the National Study of Prevention of Birth Defects and half had given birth to healthy babies and the other half, children with heart abnormalities at birth.
A better diet was associated with a 37% lower risk of Tetralogy of Fallot, a complex abnormality that causes low blood oxygen levels, and a 23% lower risk of atrial septum defects (holes in the wall of the septum that divides the atria of the heart).
The research has been carried out by specialists from the Department of Pediatrics of the University of Utah (United States). The authors conclude that the preconceptional recommendations of good nutrition are also important.
Of course, deficiencies in food can lead to a greater risk of malformations and diseases, so a good education and the quality of a health system that informs future mothers of the importance of a healthy diet remains important.
And although it is an observational study and we must continue investigating in this regard, it seems clear that The recommendation of a good diet before and during pregnancy is essential for good health of the fetus and prevent heart malformations which, although not very frequent, does reach a significant number of children in the world.
