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Paul Nelson reportingDoctors say poor families aren't getting the prenatal care they need, and their children may be getting sick because of it. Researchers say they're noticing one particular health problem.
Little Amelia Matthews is going to turn 2 in a few months. If you're wondering what to get her, she could use a new kidney.
Her father, Justin Matthews, said, "We didn't notice it for the first 11 months, until we started to switch her over to formula, and then she started having problems."
Amelia was born with a genetic disease called diffuse mesangial sclerosis. Justin Matthews says doctors spotted it when she went to the hospital after a seizure.
"Where a normal kidney is kind of smooth and a dark reddish color, hers were kind of a light pink and they were kind of bumpy. They looked kind of like they had warts all over," he said.
Matthews says they took Amelia's kidney out, fearing any cancerous growth. Now she has to have dialysis four times a week until she gets a new kidney.
"They always say that a kidney is a treatment, not necessarily a cure. So, in getting a kidney now, she might need one in 15 to 20 years down the road," Matthews said.
Doctors say there are two causes for developmental kidney problems: genetics or environment.
University of Utah Associate Professor of Nephrology Teri Jo Mauch said, "Of our particular group, we have three that are known to have genetic causes, leaving most of the other half with suspected environmental causes."
Mauch says kids from very poor families, even families in Utah, seem to have these kidney problems more often. "One of the most commonly suspected causes is prenatal nutritional deficiencies."
Mauch says a lack of vitamin A could be a big concern. "Vitamin A deficiencies have been reported in India and have been associated with small kidneys in 25 percent of the women who have severe vitamin A deficiency during pregnancy."
Mauch says some children with underdeveloped kidneys may not show any signs until their teenage years. She says smaller kidneys can keep up with a smaller body, but growth during teen years and hormones from puberty could make it too hard for kidneys to keep up.
