Lifestyle adjustments in pregnancy improved nervous system development
Following a Mediterranean diet during pregnancy improves cognitive ability and social-emotional development in children at age two. Mindfulness-based stress reduction also improves social-emotional performance.Researchers from the University of Barcelona evaluated the effects of lifestyle adjustments during pregnancy on nervous system development in children aged two years. The results of the study are published in the journal JAMA Network Open.
Compared to children in the usual care group, their peers in the Mediterranean diet group had higher scores in the cognitive (by 5 points) and social-emotional (by 5.15 points) domains. Children of participants in the mindful stress reduction program had higher scores in the social-emotional domain by 4.75 points.
Data from 626 children born to mothers with singleton pregnancies were analyzed. At the time of inclusion in the study, women were 19-23 weeks pregnant and had a high risk of low birth weight for gestational age. All participants were divided into three groups. Part of the women followed a Mediterranean diet, took individual and group educational classes, and received free cold-pressed olive oil and walnuts. The second group underwent an 8-month program aimed at mindful stress reduction. Participants in the control group received standard care.
Twenty-four months after the children were born, the authors assessed their level of neurological development using the Bayley-III scale in five domains: cognitive, language, motor, social-emotional, and adaptive.
The scientists believe that the application of such programs in clinical practice will help to improve the social-emotional and cognitive domains of development of future generations.