A new study has found a connection between vitamin A intake and the lung function of newborns, according to findings published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Some of the most common effects of a vitamin A deficiency include blindness in children, and an increase in the risk of child mortality.

A team of researchers conducted follow-up appointments with the children aged 9 to 13 years of mothers who were randomly given a vitamin A supplement during pregnancy. The study showed that the those whose mothers had received the supplement had a stronger forced expiatory volume and improved force vital capacity, resulting in stronger lungs.

“Children of mothers who received vitamin A supplementation before, during and after pregnancy had significantly improved lung function when compared to those whose mothers received beta-carotene supplementation or placebo,” said William Checkley, an assistant professor in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care of the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health..

Pregnant women may want to increase their vitamin A intake by adding several foods to their diet, including carrots, mango, spinach, papaya and fat-free milk products, according to a report from the Department of Human Nutrition at Ohio State University.