Rainfall and long-term water availability in a region before a woman becomes pregnant and during pregnancy predicted future growth outcomes of children in Uganda, according to new research led by a team from the Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and the Penn State College of Medicine. Women living in an area that did not receive adequate rainfall or experienced drought were more likely to give birth to children who don't grow at the expected rate for their age between birth and age five. Children who are under-nourished and behind in their growth are more susceptible to infections and may experience cognitive, physical and metabolic developmental impairments.
These environmental factors, like rainfall, influence the availability of food, the researchers said, which, in turn, can affect a woman's nutritional status before and during pregnancy. If a mother doesn't eat enough or is under-nourished, the effect can be passed on to her child - the child may be born at a low birth weight or experience growth faltering.
The findings, published today (March 19) in the journal JAMA Network Open, could help inform the design of precision public health programs to improve women's nutrition and improve children's nutritional outcomes at birth and later in life.
