This month's American Journal of Clinical Nutrition shed light on the role of maternal nutrition in the life-long health of the baby. Specifically, researchers looked at a famine in the Netherlands in 1944 and 1945. Babies conceived during this period were subject to prenatal malnutrition due to famine induced by Nazi occupation of Holland.  Researchers found a significantly increased risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) in people conceived during this period. These people were 3 times more likely to have coronary artery disease by age 50 than people born just before or after the famine. For this reason I want to highlight the need for excellent nutrition during pregnancy. New mothers should be certain to both get enough calories, and to eat a nutrient rich diet. In a New York Times article, Harvard biologist David Haig describes a "struggle" between mother and fetus for vital nutrients. If nutrients are in short order, clearly someone will wind up deficient. What the recent study seems to indicate is that deficiencies in-utero cause inerasable, life-long effects.

Here are three primary deficiencies to avoid during your pregnancy;

• Vitamin D--you can get this from sunshine, cod liver oil, and/or supplements.
• Omega-3 fatty acids--from a high quality fish oil (do not consume farmed fish during pregnancy--the mercury can interfere with your child's developing brain).  Pregnant and nursing mothers should use a formula that supplies a 2 to 1 ratio of DHA to EPA.
  
• Zinc--pumpkin seeds and a food-based multivitamin. 

Read the study The Dutch Famine Study New York Times Article