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Low Levels of Vitamin B12 in Pregnancy May Increase the Risk of Preterm Birth, Study Finds
Nutrition during pregnancy affects the growing fetus, and identifying appropriate nutritional supplementation in pregnancy has been a hot topic for decades. Vitamin B12 is an essential nutritional component found only in animal-derived products like meat, milk and eggs. Low intake of such products increases the risk of vitamin B12 deficiency. The proportion of pregnant women with vitamin B12 deficiency ranges from a small percentage in some Western countries, like Norway, to over two thirds in developing countries, such as India. In a newly published paper, all previous studies on effects of vitamin B12 levels in pregnancy were evaluated and their results pooled in a meta study. The question asked was whether vitamin B12 deficiency during pregnancy was harmful for the fetus?