One way to prevent having a schizophrenic child

An important research article was just published in PLoS One (Public Library of Medicine) that shows a connection between the disruption of dopamine neurons when a maternal infection causes the iron supply of the fetus to drop and schizophrenia. The authors give some background:

"Maternal infection during pregnancy has been associated with increased incidence of schizophrenia in the adult offspring. Mechanistically, this has been partially attributed to neurodevelopmental disruption of the dopamine neurons, as a consequence of exacerbated maternal immunity. In the present study we sought to target hypoferremia, a cytokine-induced reduction of serum non-heme iron, which is common to all types of infections. Adequate iron supply to the fetus is fundamental for the development of the mesencephalic dopamine neurons and disruption of this following maternal infection can affect the offspring's dopamine function."

The authors measured the adverse behavioral and neurochemical changes from challenging the dopamine circuits with turpentine to trigger an inflammatory immune response, both with and without maternal iron supplementation. They demonstrated that...

"Both the behavioral and neurochemical changes were prevented by maternal iron supplementation."

We already know that iron is a critical nutrient for dopamine production in the adult. Their conclusion sums up why prenatal iron status is important in preventing neurodevelopmental disorders including schizophrenia in the offspring.