According to the findings of a new research, conducted by British researchers at the Wellcome Trust Center for Human Genetics at the Oxford University, pregnant women should follow certain dietary restrictions so as to avoid various birth defects.

Adding to the ever-growing list of items forbidden during pregnancy - including raw fish/meat/dairy, alcohol, and cigarettes, among others -, the new study now reveals that even a high-fat diet should be avoided because of the baby’s increased risk of cleft palate and congenital heart disease, especially if the mother has a genetic defect called Cited2.

The latest findings are based on the tests of the high-fat diet theory on two groups of mice – the healthy; and the ones with Cited2 genetic defect. Of these, one group was fed a high-fat diet before and during gestation; and another controlled group was fed on a balanced diet.

It was found that the off-springs of mice suffering from the Cited2 defect and fed on a high-fat diet had twofold greater risk of a heart defect, and seven times increased risk for cleft palate; vis-à-vis the off-springs of genetically-normal mothers also fed on high-fat diet.

Commenting on the findings, lead author Dr. Jamie Bentham said: “We know that poor diet and defective genes can both affect development, but here we have seen the two combine to cause a much greater risk of developing health problems and more severe problems. We are excited by this as it suggests that congenital heart defects may be preventable by measures such as altering maternal diet.”