Plant-based food and vegan diets could be risking the health of unborn children, a major new study has suggested.
Scientists at the University of Southampton warn that pregnant women are not getting the essential nutrients they and their babies need from 'modern diets'.
And the push to reduce meat and dairy intake to achieve net-zero is likely to further deplete expecting mothers of vital nutrients, which could have lasting effects on unborn children.
The study looked at the health of expecting mothers from high-income countries, including the UK, New Zealand and Singapore.
It found that 90 percent were lacking key vitamins necessary for healthy pregnancies and the wellbeing of unborn infants.
Scientists from the university, working with experts worldwide, surveyed more than 1,700 women and found most were missing essential nutrients found in abundance in meat and dairy products.
These included vitamins B12, B6 and D, folic acid and riboflavin which are essential for the development of foetuses in the womb.
Lead author and Professor of Epidemiology Keith Godfrey said the prevalence of vitamin deficiencies among women attempting to become pregnant in wealthy countries is a serious concern.
He warned that vegan diets along with a reduction in meat and dairy could have "lasting effects on unborn children".
“Our study shows that almost every woman trying to conceive had insufficient levels of one or more vitamin, and this figure is only going to get worse as the world moves towards plant-based diets.
“People think that nutrient deficiency only affects people in underdeveloped countries – but it is also affecting the majority of women living in high-income nations.”
The study, which was published in PLOS Medicine, assessed 1,729 women between the ages of 18 and 38 at conception and followed many during subsequent pregnancies.
Results showed that nine out of ten women had marginal or low levels of folate, riboflavin, vitamins B12 and D around the time of conception, and that many developed vitamin B6 deficiency in late pregnancy.
