“Most pregnant women in Japan consume far less dietary fiber than what is the recommended intake,” said Dr Kunio Miyake, a researcher at the University of Yamanashi and first author of the study published in Frontiers in Nutrition.

“Our results provided reinforcing evidence that undernutrition during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of neurodevelopmental delay in children.”

Miyake et al. compared the development of children whose mothers had the highest intake of dietary fiber to groups of mothers who consumed successively less fiber during pregnancy.

In comparison to the highest-intake group, the children of mothers in the low-intake groups were more likely to show neurodevelopmental delays. The effect of maternal fiber undersupply was noticeable in several domains related to brain function.

Affected were communication skills, problem solving skills, and personal-social skills. The researchers also found delays in the development of large body part movement and coordination, as well as in the coordination of smaller muscles.

Fiber is a plant-based component that contains polysaccharides and lignin, and is highly resistant to hydrolysis by human digestive enzymes; it plays a pivotal role in defecation and in the maintenance of the colon’s microflora.

In addition to helping prevent constipation, fiber-rich diets are considered to prevent diseases including colonic diverticulosis, and help control diabetes mellitus, obesity or colon cancer.

Vegetables are the largest and most natural source of fiber, such as lettuce, chard, carrots, spinach, broccoli and pumpkin.

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