Eating foods rich in B12, such as red meat, poultry, eggs, and shellfish, during pregnancy may lead to a quieter and calmer baby, reports a new study published in the journal Early Human Development.
Researchers from the Public Health Service in the Netherlands worked with over 4,000 pregnant women.
At twelve weeks of pregnancy, researchers tested the expectant mothers’ blood for vitamin B12 levels. Three months after birth, the women filled out a survey on how often and long their new infants cried.
The women who had the lowest levels of vitamin B12 at twelve weeks gestation were up to eight times more likely to report colicky babies. Almost five percent of the women who had a B12 deficiency during pregnancy reported having babies that cried more than three hours a day. Only one percent of those women who had the highest levels of the vitamin during pregnancy reported having an infant that cried excessively.
"This study provides first evidence for an early nutritional origin in infant crying behavior," concluded the researchers.