The fetal brain begins its development within weeks of conception, a process that proceeds not only during the nine months of pregnancy but continues into adulthood. The mother's nutrition during pregnancy affects the developing brain significantly and poor nutrition or deficiencies of some vital nutrients can lead to birth defects, developmental delays and lifelong neurological problems.
Development
The brain and the spinal cord begin to form during the second and third weeks of pregnancy from a structure called the neural tube, explains the "DANA Guide to Brain Health." By the 11th week, the brain has become separated into different recognizable parts such as the cerebellum and cerebral hemisphere. These gain further detail as smaller brain structures develop within the brain. By the time the baby is born, he has over 100 billion neurons, and at some points during development, more than 100,000 new neurons are being created each minute.
Nutrition
In the womb, all of the nutrition a baby receives comes directly from the mother's blood supply. These nutrients travel through the placenta and umbilical cord into the fetal body, where they are transported via the baby's developing circulatory system to the organs that need them, including the fetal brain. Because the mother's body tends to take nutrients from her own stores to supply the baby, deficiencies in the mother will typically show up in her own body before her baby is affected. However, some nutrients are so important that even a slight deficiency can impact the baby's brain development.
Birth Defects
In some cases, the lack of specific nutrients causes birth defects that affect the developing baby's brain. The consumption of folate, or its synthetic form folic acid, is strongly connected to the prevention of neural-tube defects, according to the "DANA Guide to Brain Health." In the most severe cases, a neural-tube defect can lead to a complete failure of the baby's brain to develop, a condition called anencephaly. Sometimes, the addition of certain components to the mother's diet can affect the baby. The consumption of alcohol in pregnancy is linked to fetal alcohol syndrome, which damages the developing fetal brain.
Timing
For some of the interaction between prenatal brain development and nutrition, timing matters. For example, a deficiency of folate during the first few weeks of pregnancy -- when the basic formation of the brain and spinal cord are developing -- tend to damage the overall physical structure of the brain. During the sixth and seventh month of pregnancy, when the folds are developing in the cerebral cortex and neurons are migrating within the fetal brain, nutritional deficiencies may be more likely to affect personality or contribute to future mental illnesses such as schizophrenia.
Considerations
While getting a wide range of vitamins and minerals is important for a pregnant mother, some nutrients are more important than others in fetal brain development, explains a June 2008 "Nutrition Neuroscience" report on the symposium titled, The Role of Nutrition in Infant and Toddler Brain and Behavioral Development. Folate affects early brain development. Iron and omega-3 fat, an essential fatty acid found in fish and flax seed, are important for the development and activity of neurotransmitters in the brain. Choline may have an effect on the development of blood vessels within the brain, leading to an inadequate blood supply in the fetal brain if the mother is deficient in this vitamin, according to the National Institutes of Health. Other important nutrients for the developing brain include iron, protein, vitamin A, iodine and zinc.
