Fish oil use in pregnancy: research article

It is now commonplace for pregnant women to take prenatal vitamins and a DHA omega-3 supplement on the premise that the DHA helps the brain development in the fetus and newborn after delivery. Initial research was excitingly positive, but yesterday the journal JAMA released findings from Australia that supplementation with 800 mg DHA (and 100 mg EPA) daily during pregnancy did not lead to significant cognitive improvement in the infant at 18 months of age, nor did it decrease the chance that women would have postpartum depression. The group taking omega-3s did have a decrease in the rate of preterm labor. There are many factors to consider when trying to determine whether or not to "believe" the results of this article. The researchers mention fish intake outside of the study could be a factor, as well as dose, EPA/DHA ratio, and the general applicability of the women being studied to women from other countries. The bottom line is that research into the effect of omega-3s will only help our clinical use of these important nutrients, and this study adds one piece of data to the overall picture. There is little to no risk to taking omega-3 supplements, so most women will probably continue to add them to their prenatal regimen on the chance that there is some benefit, the details of which will hopefully be elucidated by future research.

Here is the link if you would like to read more:

www.nytimes.com/2010/10/20/health/research/20fishoil.html?scp=1&sq=fish%20oil&st=cse