Can beetroot juice supplements help babies grow well in the womb?

Dietary constituents as pregnancy therapeutics: can dietary nitrate improve vascular function and growth in fetal growth restriction?

BHF Intermediate Basic Science Research Fellow Dr Elizabeth Cottrell is studying ways to prevent foetal growth restriction, or FGR - when a baby’s growth in the womb slows or stops. FGR increases the risk of stillbirth, and babies are more likely to develop high blood pressure and diabetes in later life. In many FGR cases, blood flow across the placenta is impaired, reducing oxygen and nutrient delivery to the foetus. Nitric oxide – a small molecule that causes blood vessels to dilate, and maintains blood flow across the placenta – is less available in FGR. Recently, scientists, many funded by the BHF, have found that nitrate, a compound found in many foods but especially in green leafy vegetables and beetroot, can increase nitric oxide levels. In mice nitrate supplements improve blood flow and heart and circulatory system function. In this project, Dr Cottrell will work out whether giving dietary nitrate to pregnant mice using beetroot juice provides an important source of nitric oxide during pregnancy. She will look at maternal and foetal blood vessel function to find out if nitrate improves blood flow to the baby and increases foetal growth in pregnancies complicated by FGR. This research could pave the way for a clinical trial in people that could improve the health of babies and mothers-to-be.