Iron Deficiency During Pregnancy Linked To Baby Being Intersex –Study

A new study led by researchers in Australia has suggested that not getting enough iron during pregnancy could raise the risk of babies being born intersex.

The study is published in ‘The Lancet Global Health journal’. Scientists have found for the first time that pregnant mice deficient in iron are more likely to give birth to males who have female genitalia.

This deficiency during pregnancy is most often caused by a lack of iron in the diet, which can naturally come from eating iron-rich foods like red meat, red kidney beans, edamame beans, chickpeas, nuts and leafy green vegetables.

Intersex is a condition in which individuals have genitals or reproductive organs that do not fit the typical binary definitions of male or female.

It is already known that iron plays a role in organ development, and another recent study showed babies born to mothers with low iron levels were more likely to suffer heart defects.