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What is the danger of vitamin B12 deficiency in pregnancy?
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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Babies born to women with a vitamin B 12 deficiency have an increased tendency to develop type 2 diabetes and other metabolic diseases. Such conclusions were reached by British scientists after conducting a study.
The project's lead developer, Professor Ponusammy Saravanan, and other researchers presented their findings at a meeting of the Endocrine Society.
Cyanocobalamin, or B 12, is a water-soluble vitamin that is present in sufficient quantities in animal products: meat, dairy products, eggs, and fish. This vitamin is also often added artificially to products intended for vegetarians, such as muesli or cereal mixes, to prevent its deficiency.
According to the latest information from the American National Institutes of Health, the daily recommended amount of cyanocobalamin for women during pregnancy is 2.6 mcg.
Insufficient B 12 during pregnancy leads to metabolic disorders in the fetus. Newborns may suffer from insulin resistance and have an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Such unfavorable consequences are caused by the disrupted production of leptin, a hormonal substance produced in the lipocytes of mammals and humans. Leptin is known to many as the "satiety hormone" - it is thanks to it that we understand that we are full during a meal.
If there is not enough leptin in the body, or there is resistance to it, then a person begins to overeat, weight gain occurs. As a result, metabolic reactions are disrupted, tissues lose sensitivity to insulin, which gives impetus to the development of insulin-dependent diabetes.
The study conducted by scientists has shown that the content of cyanocobalamin in the blood of a pregnant woman is less than 150 pmol per liter - this is a potential risk of metabolic disorders in the future baby. Children born with a vitamin deficiency may subsequently have problems with the level of leptin and normal metabolism in general. There is a high probability that without cyanocobalamin, the gene responsible for the amount of leptin initially functions incorrectly, which is the cause of a constant deficiency of this hormonal substance.
"To date, we cannot voice a clear mechanism why this happens. We only have an assumption based on the fact that cyanocobalamin takes part in methylation processes, which means that its deficiency can affect the degree of activation of any genes," the scientists explained.
Medical experts definitely advise listening to scientists. Even though the study is not finished and the results of the experiments have not yet been officially verified, the correct conclusion can be made now: all women who are planning to conceive or are already pregnant should receive all the vitamins necessary for the body - and cyanocobalamin is among them.