Mothers who have an iron deficiency early on in their pregnancy may not realize the detrimental effects this could have on their unborn child's brain. In a new study, researchers examine the lasting effects that an early pregnancy iron deficiency could have on a child's brain development.

The study, published in the journal PLoS One, indicates that women who have an iron deficiency are not only at risk for developing anemia, but they also could affect the baby's brain development, which could have long-term negative effects.

The researchers are hopeful that this study will increase the monitoring of pregnant women's iron levels in an effort to keep them on track. Interestingly, low iron is prevalent in 35 to 58 percent of all healthy women.

"What convinced us to conduct the present study were our preliminary data suggesting that cells involved in building the embryonic brain during the first trimester were most sensitive to low iron levels," said Dr. Margot Mayer-Proschel, the lead researcher and an associate professor of Biomedical Genetics at URMC.