How Does B12 Deficiency of Mothers Affect Their Infants?

Background: Vitamin B-12 cannot be synthesized in the body and it is essential for growth and development in humans. Objectives: To evaluate the vitamin B-12 levels between the mothers and their infants who presented to the Pediatric Hematology outpatients department due to the symptoms of vitamin B-12 deficiency. We also compared the effects of low B-12 levels in both the mother and the child, compared to the effects of normal B-12 levels in the mother and low levels in the child. Methods: We enrolled 303 children aged 2 - 18 months between January 2013 and September 2015. Patients with a vitamin B12 level < 200 pg/mL in both the mother and the child and patients with a B-12 level that was low in the child and normal in the mother were compared. Results: The birth weight of the children was low in the group where the B12 level of both the mother and the child (n = 163) was low and presentation to the clinic with neurologic signs and symptoms such as tremor, restlessness, seizure, hypotonia, and macrocephaly not related to another etiologic reason was common (P < 0.05). A remarkable finding was the simultaneous low levels of vitamin B-12 in the mother in 55 of the 69 children who presented with neurological symptoms (P < 0.05). A generalized or focal epileptic pathology was found in the EEGs and MR images including retardation in myelination, demyelination, atrophic findings or ventricular dilatation in children whose mothers have B-12 deficiency simultaneously. Conclusions: It is difficult to explain such complicated clinical pictures due to malnutrition especially in developing countries. Detecting and treating vitamin B-12 deficiency early in mother and child is very important in prevention of potential irreversible neurological problems.