Maternal Anaemia Linked to Brain Differences That Widen After Birth

A King's College London and University of Cape Town study tracked over 300 mother-infant pairs in Cape Town. Babies born to mothers with even mild anaemia — low red blood cell counts — had brains roughly 4% smaller. Differences in regions governing movement, learning, and emotion were absent at birth but appeared by age one and widened by age two, suggesting intervention may need to extend beyond pregnancy into early postnatal life.