The Guardian
· collected 2026-09-09 · by Kat Lay, Global health correspondent
A study by researchers from King's College London and the University of Cape Town found that babies born to mothers with mild anaemia have smaller brains, particularly in areas related to movement, learning, and emotion regulation. The research involved over 300 mothers and their babies in Cape Town, who were scanned multiple times between three months and two years old. On average, the total brain volume of babies born to anaemic mothers was 4% lower than those born to non-anaemic mothers. By age 24 months, the gap between the groups had widened, with a 6% smaller corpus callosum in the group whose mothers had been anaemic.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-09,
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Story summary
A study conducted by researchers from King's College London and the University of Cape Town has found that babies born to mothers with anaemia have smaller brains, particularly in areas linked to movement, learning, and emotion regulation. The study used portable MRI machines to scan the brains of over 300 infants between three months and two years old, and found that those born to anaemic mothers had a total brain volume 4% lower than their non-anaemic counterparts. This difference was observed in specific regions of the brain, including the putamen, caudate nucleus, and corpus callosum. The study's findings suggest that anaemia during pregnancy can have long-term effects on cognitive development, potentially leading to problems when children start school. Anaemia is a common condition, affecting more than a third of pregnant women worldwide, with highest rates in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia. The researchers used portable MRI machines to scan the infants' brains, making it possible to detect these differences at an early age, as early as one year old.
Written for “Maternal Anaemia and Brain Development” on 2026-09-09,
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Babies born to mothers with anaemia have smaller brains, particularly in key regions linked to movement, learning and the regulation of emotion, according to a study.
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Babies → bear → study
Researchers said the differences, first detected at the age of one, could lead to cognitive problems when children started school.
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children → say → school
More than a third of pregnant women worldwide have anaemia – a condition typically caused by iron deficiency in which the number of red blood cells in the body is lower than normal.
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number → have → body
Symptoms include fatigue, shortness of breath and dizziness.
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Researchers from King’s College London in the UK, and the University of Cape Town in South Africa, followed more than 300 mothers and their babies in Cape Town, scanning the brains of the infants several times between the ages of three months and two years.
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Researchers → follow → months
On average, the total brain volume of babies born to anaemic mothers was 4% lower than that of babies born to non-anaemic mothers – despite all the anaemic mothers being diagnosed only with a mild version of the condition.
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mothers → bear → condition
Differences were recorded in three specific regions of the brain: the putamen, caudate nucleus and corpus callosum.
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“All three of these brain regions are implicated in key neuropsychological functions,” said Jessica Ringshaw, first author and researcher at King’s Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) and the University of Cape Town, citing processing speed, emotion regulation and executive function as examples.
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Ringshaw → implicate → examples
The gap between the groups of babies widened over the first two years of life – the corpus callosum, for instance, was about 4% smaller at 12 months in the group whose mothers had been anaemic but 6% by 24 months.
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mothers → widen → months
Earlier research in South Africa looking at toddlers and school-age children found comparable differences in brain volume.
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research → look → volume
“These aren’t children who are catching up, where the brain differences are disappearing over time,” said Ringshaw.
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Ringshaw → catch → time
“They are still there when the children are six years old and going to school, and when these things might then start translating into more noticeable cognitive difficulties.
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The findings offer a potential explanation for earlier studies showing that children born to mothers with anaemia scored less well on tests of development, she added.
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she → offer → development
The mothers with and without anaemia were otherwise very similar in terms of factors such as household income and food security, Ringshaw said, making her confident that maternal anaemia caused the differences the team observed.
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team → say → differences
The results reinforced the importance of tackling anaemia in women of reproductive age, Ringshaw said.
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Ringshaw → reinforce → age
“We should be screening for anaemia and iron deficiency, particularly during pregnancy,” she said, recommending the use of oral or even intravenous iron supplementation where appropriate.
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she → screen → supplementation
The causes of anaemia were complex and could include infectious diseases, she said, with the study finding higher rates of anaemia in women living with HIV, “so having our iron interventions, but also appropriate infection management in conjunction with that [is important]”.
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While the World Health Organization lists reducing rates of anaemia as a priority, progress has stagnated over the past two decades.
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progress → reduce → decades
“Now more than ever, anaemia needs to be placed at the forefront of public health efforts if we are to ensure that children are not only surviving but thriving,” said Ringshaw.
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Ringshaw → need → efforts
The research, published in the journal Brain Communications, used special new MRI scanners that are cheaper and more portable than the conventional machines used in hospitals.
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that → publish → hospitals
It compared images taken using the traditional “high-field” MRI machines with those taken by the portable “low-field” options, and found the latter were sensitive enough to detect the same differences in the brains of babies born to anaemic mothers.
Steve Williams, professor of neuroimaging at King’s, said: “This study has proved that our novel technology can measure the impact of malnutrition on the developing brain, at scale, in some of the most challenging environments.
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technology → compare → environments
This will provide an early, sensitive assessment of planned interventions.”
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