The New York Womans

How to protect your fetus from ADHD during pregnancy?

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) causes poor attention and hyperactivity, and affects 5% to 10% of children and 2% to 5% of adults worldwide.

Although the causes of ADHD remain unknown, scientists have in recent months uncovered factors that increase the likelihood of a fetus developing the condition during the perinatal period, providing an opportunity for early diagnosis and treatment, and protecting the child from negative outcomes such as injuries and accidents.

Factors to predict risk

Last March, the University of Cambridge published the results of a study on the possibility of predicting a child's likelihood of developing symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), by monitoring specific factors to which the mother is exposed before and during pregnancy.

The researchers collected information about the pregnancy and birth period of the mothers of 10,000 children born between 2007 and 2009. The data were verified by the mothers' direct caregivers, their medical records throughout the pregnancy, the mothers' reports of their activities during that period, and detailed information about the children's family medical history.

The researchers identified 40 factors that preceded or followed pregnancy, then used artificial intelligence and statistical techniques to compare the data. They found a strong association between only 13 factors and the ability to predict symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in childhood.

Scientists found that health problems a mother may have experienced before and during pregnancy were significantly and directly linked to an 86% higher risk of the child developing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) than children whose mothers did not experience the same problems.

The study report listed these factors in order: giving birth to a male child, maternal smoking during pregnancy or exposure to secondhand smoke, maternal use of opioid painkillers, urinary tract infections, low iron levels during pregnancy, maternal complications during pregnancy or childbirth, maternal race, preeclampsia, recurrent nausea during pregnancy, gestational diabetes, psychological or mental illness in either the mother or father, mother being under 20 years of age, low family income, and maternal use of non-prescription medications.

Researchers emphasized that these factors may help identify children most in need of support, especially when combined with other factors such as genetics or family history. Some of these factors, such as smoking and anemia, can be avoided.

Weight loss and pain relievers

Last year saw a major shift in scientists' view of the link between pregnancy and childhood illness. Researchers at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland found that every one kilogram (1.2 pounds) below the average birth weight for a child increased the risk of developing behaviors similar to ADHD by 2%. However, these behaviors remained within the normal range, despite increasing during adolescence.

Although studies have identified genes associated with ADHD, researchers at Oslo University Hospital and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health were the first to study risk factors affecting fetal genetics and the production of a gene similar to genes associated with ADHD.

The researchers examined the results of five epidemiological studies, which revealed a consistent association between long-term exposure to paracetamol, acetaminophen, or ibuprofen during pregnancy for at least 20 days and symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and neurodevelopmental disorders in children.

Researchers focused on paracetamol, which is available without a prescription, because it is the most commonly used medication during pregnancy, with approximately 50% of pregnant women taking it to treat fever, headaches, and other aches and pains.

Researchers collected DNA samples from the umbilical cord blood of pregnant mothers, and found that 90% of them had “non-genetic” changes among mothers who had taken paracetamol for more than 20 days.

inhaling fumes

Researchers at the University of Seoul in Korea and the University of Ottawa in Canada examined the impact of the environment on fetal nervous system health during pregnancy. They took blood samples from 51 children when they were 2 years old, and then at 4, 6, and 8 years old—critical ages when symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) appear. The children's mothers also reported on their diet during pregnancy, their use of pesticides, their exposure to smoke from open fires, and their living near an industrial area.

The journal Nature published a study last March, which found a link between maternal exposure to cigarette smoke and sulfur dioxide during the first trimester of pregnancy and children developing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

This association was reduced when the mother was exposed to smoke in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, and prenatal exposure to sulfur dioxide affected DNA more than if the child was exposed to it after birth.

Sulfur dioxide is produced by agricultural waste fires and the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and gas.