Fish Oil for Pregnant Women?

Let’s face it. We are just beginning to fully understand the benefits of fish oil for pregnant women, but already it is obvious that omega-3 fatty acids, and DHA in particular, play a pivotal role in the early development of a child. DHA is important for the cognitive development of the baby, and is also necessary for the maintenance of proper brain function. Here is what fish oil can do for your child. It is now being advised that all pregnant women supplement their diets with fish oil, even though your infant will receive DHA through your breast milk.



 It is thought that the earlier the baby is exposed to DHA, the more benefit it receives from it. It is especially important that the child receive additional DHA during the final trimester, because this is a critical period in your pregnancy. Fish oil for pregnant women is designed to offset the possible detrimental affect that insufficient levels of DHA can have on visual and neurological development. Supplementation is necessary after birth, because there is only a small amount of DHA present in mother’s milk.



 What this supplementation can do for your child has been the subject of many randomized studies. It has been shown that children born to mothers who took fish oil supplements throughout their pregnancy and during the first three months of lactation tend to score higher on mental processing tests than children whose mothers did not supplement their diet. Children whose mothers took supplements also had superior scores in eye and hand coordination at 2 ½ years of age than the children of those who received none.



More proof of the benefits to the child of supplemented fish oil for pregnant women come from a study that found that infants at 9 months of age display more problem solving skills than infants that did not receive additional DHA. Every study conducted so far has shown only positive results from including more DHA in your diet, but you have to be careful of the source of your DHA. Many doctor’s recommend that pregnant women obtain additional omega-3 fatty acids through eating fish a couple of times a week.



 This can actually be a little risky because the oily fish are considered predators, which means that they are prone to having higher levels of contamination. This is because the mercury, arsenic, PCBs, lead, and dioxins in their prey become built up in the meat of the predator fish. This is why the use of high quality prepackaged fish oil for pregnant women is the way to go. The ingredients in these supplements are extracted from fish that live in only the purest waters, such as the Southern Ocean of New Zealand where the hoki fish is harvested.



 If your chosen supplement contains 50% or more hoki fish oil in it, then you are on the right track. Make no mistake about it. The advantages of fish oil for pregnant women cannot be denied. If you want to improve your health, while giving your baby all of the tools that it needs to start off life ahead of the curve, then a high quality hoki fish oils supplement is the best answer for you.