Sensitive Midwifery - Issue 43 - July2019

From your first moments together, South Africa’s leading baby hyper is with you every step of the way. www.babycity.co.za 52098FireTree e&oe Morning sickness linked to better mental development Moms suffering from severe morning sickness, and perhaps worrying if Baby is getting sufficient nutrients, will be reassured to know that a small Canadian study has tied pregnancy nausea to better mental development. Testing 121 children, researchers discovered that those whose mothers had suffered morning sickness scored higher on IQ, memory and language tests. Hartnett, J, ‘Study finds mums who suffer from pregnancy sickness tend to have kids with higher IQs’. Available: https://www.healthymummy.com/mums-sickness-tend-kids-higher-iqs/ Vitamin B6’s role while expecting The advice to supplement vitamin B6 to help relieve mild pregnancy nausea is still supported by research, but the World Health Organization clearly revokes any suggestion that it can assist in the prevention of pre- eclampsia and premature birth, stating that there are no substantiated claims that vitamin B6 can improve either maternal or infant outcomes. However, folic acid belongs to the vitamin B group too, and its importance in pregnancy is well-established. The water-soluble vitamin B6 (or pyridoxine) cannot be seen in isolation from the other B vitamins, and is also unlikely to have exclusive deficiency. Fortunately, many plant foods are vitamin B6-rich: sweet potato, bananas, avocado, potato, tofu, spinach, peas, mango and pineapple, as well as various lean meats and fish. The WHO always urges that dietary intake of nutrients should be the first-line approach. • Whitbread, D, ‘Top 10 Foods Highest in Vitamin B6’, 9 April 2019. Available: 'https://www.myfooddata.com/articles/foods-high-in- vitamin-B6.php • World Health Organization, ‘Vitamin B6 supplementation during pregnancy’, e-Library of Evidence for Nutrition Actions (eLENA). Available: 'https://www.who.int/elena/titles/vitaminb6-pregnancy/ en/ Pregnancy 11 Issue 43 eSensitive Midwifery Magazine