Relationship between maternalmalnutrition and neurodevelopmentaldelay in infants

Abstract

Infant neurodevelopment is especially vulnerable to nutritional deficiencies during gestation, a stage in which the brain depends entirely on maternal nourishment for its structuring and maturation. The objective was to identify the relationship between maternal malnutrition and neurodevelopmental delay in infants. A systematic review was conducted by searching for scientific articles related to the topic. The research question used was: What is the relationship between maternal malnutrition and neurodevelopmental delay in infants? Population: Infants, Exposure: Maternal malnutrition, Outcome: Neurodevelopmental delay. The search sources were PubMed, Scopus, SciELO, and Google Scholar. Articles published between 2020 and 2025 were selected. Of the 178 articles found, 149 were excluded for not meeting our inclusion criteria. 29 contained information on the topic, of which 19 were used as a theoretical and conceptual framework, and 10 were used for the systematic review. Maternal nutrition during pregnancy is a key determinant of neurodevelopment, with adequate dietary quality associated with better outcomes and malnutrition with
a higher risk of developmental delay.