Pregnant women who get the intake of folic acid and iron are quite likely to have a bright child. Thus the results of research conducted at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Maryland, United States, recently.
Research involving 676 children living in Nepal were found, micronutrient supplementation containing folic acid and iron to improving the intellectual and motor skills. Therefore, if the mother was taking both supplements during pregnancy will affect the baby's intelligence.
"Iron plays an important role for the development of central nervous system. Lack of iron can change neuroanatomi, biochemistry, and metabolism that would hamper the processes of cognitive and motor development," said Paul Christian, leader of the study.
In the study, the children were tested using the universal nonverbal intelligence test (UNIT) to test an intellectual level, also test the movement assessment battery for children (MABC) to test their motor function. As a result, folic acid and iron are not only good for the intellectual level of children, but also for the development of motor function.
"This groundbreaking research shows that children's cognitive performance is influenced by the intake that goes into his mother's body during pregnancy," says Maureen Black of the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
The research results were published in the latest edition of the American Medical Association