Pregnant woman's urine can now predict baby's weight: Study

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Here is a good news for all mom-to-be's! Your baby's birth weight can now be predicted with the help of the mommy-to-be's urine.

A study conducted by Biomed Central stated that mommy-to-be's urine can help in identifying lifestyle interventions which in turn maintain a healthy birth weight of the baby. It is always advisable to maintain a healthy birth weight because abnormal birth weight and foetal growth are related to the risk of chronic diseases, like diabetes and obesity.

Researchers conducted a study using a technique called NMR spectroscopy to identify a panel of 10 urinary metabolites in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy. All of these were associated with increased birth weight and foetal growth. The metabolics included steroid hormones and biological building blocks called branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs). BCAAs are nutrients vital during pregnancy as it provides energy to the foetus. The study reported that changes in metabolics including BCAAs detected in the urine noted around 12% variation in birth weight. This variation was independent of other predictors like maternal smoking, weight or alcohol intake.

The study also noted around 50% increase in mother's level of individual BCAA linked with 1-2.4% increase in the baby's birth weight. Urine samples and lifestyle questionnaire data from over 800 pregnant women aged between 28-33 years were collected. This study is said to be the most comprehensive study of urinary metabolites and foetal weight outcome till date.