Powerhouse Omega3's in Pregnancy

If someone you love is pregnant or planning on it, here’s one powerful nutrient worth putting on the radar RIGHT AWAY, omega-3 DHA. One in ten babies worldwide are born too early. Preterm birth is the leading cause of death in kids under five. We see more breathing problems, developmental delays, and lifelong health issues in those kids.

That’s why this Cochrane review of 70 randomized controlled trials with nearly 20,000 pregnant women is so powerful. Like I’ve told you to do, I checked and eleven of those trials were funded by the supplement industry, but when they omitted them from the main outcomes of preterm births, it made little or no difference. So we have high-quality evidence from these studies that omega-3s taken during pregnancy lower the risk of preterm birth before 37 weeks. The women in these studies with no omega-3s added averaged a 13.4% preterm birth rate. Those who took extra omega-3s from supplements and food had a preterm rate of 11.9%. Although that’s only a difference of 1.4% in the absolute risk, it constitutes a risk reduction of 11.2% from what it was. A reduction in the usual risk of preterm birth of 11.2% is not an easy thing to accomplish in the world of baby deliveries.  The effect is even stronger for very early preterm births, before 34 weeks. Those rates were 4.6% vs 2.7% respectively.Those odds were cut 41%! That’s phenomenal.

Omega-3s also made a difference in birthweight. Fewer babies were born underweight, again, a big deal because underweight babies are more likely to face complications at birth and chronic disease later in life.

And finally, moms who took omega-3s had slightly longer pregnancies overall. Granted, most moms have had quite enough of pregnancy by 42 weeks, but that extra time of even a few days  in the womb matters for growth and survival.

Bottom line: With the strongest confidence, omega-3s in pregnancy help reduce preterm births, cut low birthweight, and support longer, healthier gestations.

What dose should you take in pregnancy? Strong studies indicate 1,000mg of DHA per day.