Consuming Milk During Pregnancy Makes Children Taller in Teenage Years

Drinking milk during pregnancy makes children taller during their teenage years, a latest study shows.

The study of babies born to 809 Denmark women between 1988 and 1989 showed that adolescent growth was directly linked to consumption of milk by mothers during their pregnancy.

The researchers from Iceland, Denmark and the U.S. measured weight and birth length of the babies and later studied them after 20 years.

The study, published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found that teenage girls and boys were relatively taller if their mothers consumed over a quarter of a pint of milk each day during their pregnancy, compared to children born to women who drank less milk.

The children whose mothers had milk during pregnancy also showed higher levels of insulin levels and were less prone to have type two diabetes.

"Maternal milk consumption may have a growth-promoting effect with respect to weight and length at birth. These results also provide some suggestion that this effect may even track into early adult age,' the researchers wrote in the study.

Daily Mail reported that British scientists found that drinking adequate milk during pregnancy could boost the babies' IQ because of its rich iodine content. The study of over 1000 expecting mothers found that women who drank less milk had children with lower IQs and reading abilities.

Previous studies have shown that that babies weighed more and grew more quickly if mothers consumed milk during pregnancy. This is the first study that shows drinking milk during pregnancy can have positive effects on children even in their teenage years.