Marginal Vitamin B₁₂ Intake during Gestation in the Rat has Long Term Effects on the Offspring

Abstract

IT is now evident that malnutrition of the foetus or of the infant results in long term abnormalities in the physical, clinical and behavioural characteristics of the organism^1–4. Experimental studies have generally dealt with the effects of severe malnutrition. There is reason to believe that less severe dietary imbalances, more likely to occur in population groups of the Western world, if imposed at an early stage, may have profound, adverse effects much later in life. Because the nutrient demands per unit of body weight are presumably higher in the foetus than in the newborn, a diet which is considered fully adequate for post-natal development does not necessarily provide, when consumed by the mother, an adequate nutritional environment for the developing foetus.