Zinc important for baby's bones

A new study suggest that pregnant women need to have adequate zinc levels to ensure optimal bone growth of their developing baby. Maternal zinc deficiency is relatively common in developing countries, but its consequences for fetal growth are not established. Using ultrasound, the researchers tested whether increasing zinc levels in women with a deficiency could improve fetal growth.Researchers from the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore conducted a study, which involved 242 pregnant women from Peru, a country where zinc deficiency is common. Early in pregnancy, the women were randomly selected to receive vitamin supplements that did or did not contain zinc. Foetuses of zinc-treated mothers showed much greater bone growth at the femur, or the thigh bone, than foetuses of other mothers. The effect of zinc supplementation on the femur growth increased with increasing gestational age.The results of the study suggest that maternal zinc levels have an effect on foetal bone growth.

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