Being Pregnant
High Fat Diet May Cause Birth Defects
A new study suggests that some of the most common birth defects may be tied to maternal fat intake, both before and during pregnancy. The study, conducted in the U.K. at the Wellcome Trust Center for Human Genetics at Oxford University, found the risk for both congenital heart disease and cleft palate was higher in mice who were fed a high fat diet than in mice who ate a balanced diet.
But diet is far from the only factor. Read on to see what else matters…
It seems that a fatty diet alone is not enough to trigger defects. There must also be a genetic element. The risk of defects climbed exponentially when combined with certain genetic changes in the affected mice. In some cases mothers who were fed the high fat diet had some offspring who were normal, and others with birth defects, according to their genes. This study clearly shows the interaction of environmental and genetic factors, reinforcing the theory that many diseases and disorders are the result of the combination of both.
The study has people feeling optimistic, because dietary influences are relatively easy to control. Says Study leader Jamie Bentham of Oxford: “We are excited by this as it suggests that congenital heart defects may be preventable by measures such as altering maternal diet,”
So if these findings are applicable to human women as well as mice, and if women are able to eat less fat, they may be able to reduce the number of these birth defects. The study did not specify the quantity of fat, or the type—and clearly there’s a wide range of fats with both negative and positive influences on the body. It’s also not clear whether it’s the fat itself that might be causing the problems, or the tendency of fat to store toxins from other sources. It will be interesting to hear more details and whether there are dietary recommendations passed on to women as a result of these findings.In the meantime keep in mind that the risk for these birth defects is quite small overall, and in some cases these defects are mild or operable.
photo: Christian Cable/flickr
Go Back To Being Pregnant
2 Comments
Shelly commented on Jul 11 10 at 12:43 amMice of herbivores, so they aren’t suppose to eat animal fats. Humans are omnivores, so I see no value in this study. That quality of fats that we eat has an effect, and that has to be considered. You can’t vilify an entire food group based on a study run on herbivores.
BRB commented on Jul 21 10 at 10:34 amI find this highly suspicious. They never mention what type of fat they use which is very important as a vegetable or soy oil will do far more damage than a good saturated fat from grassfed sources. I’ve looked around the internet for the actual study, but no links to it can be found. I don’t know how anyone could make an informed decision without the actual fact from the study to review.
Add your take:
Note: Babble is a supportive, diverse community. We encourage a range of opinions,
but any unduly hostile comments will be removed.
Comments are delayed up to 15 minutes
Kristin Ruiz 
Rebekah Kuschmider .jpg)
CaitlinHTP (Caitlin Boyle) 
Lauren Hartmann 
Michelle Horton 
Ceridwen Morris 
Katie 
Devan McGuinness 
Lauren Jimeson 
The Walt Disney Company supports Babble as a platform dedicated to honest, engaged, informed, intelligent and open conversation about parenting. However, the opinions expressed on this site are those of individual parents/writers and do not reflect the views of Disney. In addition, content provided on this site is for entertainment or informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or safety advice.
2