If you’re planning to become a mother or are already expecting, it’s important to reconsider your love for foods high in fats and sugars. Tanuja, who relied on convenient, unhealthy foods during her first pregnancy, reflects on her experience: “I thought I was just eating what was convenient, not realizing the long-term impact it could have on my baby.”
After giving birth, she noticed that her child faced weight management issues and liver function concerns, which alarmed her pediatrician. “It was heartbreaking to learn that my choices could have played a role in his health struggles. I felt a sense of guilt that I couldn’t shake,” Tanuja expressed.
Research published in the journal Liver International highlights that a high-fat and high-sugar diet can lead to liver stress in unborn babies, potentially causing long-term health issues. It’s crucial for expectant mothers to be aware of how their dietary choices can affect their child’s future health.
Bile acids typically help with digestion and absorb dietary fats in the small intestine, but when they reach excessive levels, they become toxic and can damage the liver. While the mother can detoxify the acids, the fetus lacks that ability. Bile acids may re-circulate to the mother for detoxification, but if they don’t, they build up in the fetal liver, setting the stage for future problems.
The findings suggest that early exposure to excess bile acids in the womb may be one important factor underlying the early development of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), which affects up to 30% of youth.
“It’s a huge public health concern, as we know mothers with obesity or those eating a poor diet can predispose the next generation to a risk for obesity, diabetes and other metabolic diseases beginning in the womb, thus completing a vicious cycle from mother to infant,” said Jed Friedman, Ph.D., associate vice provost for diabetes programs at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences and director of OU Health Harold Hamm Diabetes Center. Friedman was co-senior author of the study with Stephanie Wesolowski of the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
By the time the offspring studied were juveniles, they had liver damage, including increased amounts of a protein called collagen, which is linked to fibrosis (a build-up of scar tissue), and activated liver cells involved in fibrosis. The high-fat diet also led to changes in how some liver genes worked, particularly those related to bile acid processing. These changes persisted regardless of what the offspring ate after being weaned.
In addition, offspring whose mothers ate a high-fat diet had more bile duct cells (cells that drain bile from the liver), suggesting the liver was trying to compensate for damage.
“This study provides evidence that MASLD originates in the womb, influenced at least in part by a mother’s high-fat diet,” Friedman said. “The discovery of elevated bile acid levels in fetuses may provide insights into the early stages of MASLD and its progression before it worsens.
“A mother’s diet during pregnancy plays a powerful role in shaping her baby’s future health. By making healthy food choices, moms can help lower their child’s risk of developing metabolic diseases like MASLD later in life.”
