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A new study from the University of Rochester Medical Center has demonstrated the dangers of caffeine consumption during pregnancy. In particular, scientists have established that it can change important brain processes of the fetus, which results in behavioral problems at a later age.
As part of the study, brain images of children aged 9-10 years were analyzed. Structural changes in the brain were found in children whose mothers consumed caffeine during pregnancy.
"We are talking about a small effect that will not lead to a catastrophe. However, minimal but noticeable behavioral problems can occur," says Dr. John Fox, one of the study's lead authors.
As part of the analysis, brain scans of more than nine thousand participants were used. Scientists paid attention to how traces of white matter, which form connections between brain regions, changed if mothers of children consumed caffeine during pregnancy.
