 The essential omega 3 fatty acid called DHA is found in the membrane of all cells in our body and is a major component of the nervous system. Your baby gets DHA through the placenta and, after birth, your breast milk. Benefits of DHA in Pregnancy DHA accumulates in your baby’s brain and retina throughout pregnancy but particularly in the last trimester and the early postnatal period. Preemie babies who haven’t had access to this flow of DHA from the placenta are born with reduced fat stores, making them more susceptible to deficiency. A higher intake of DHA during pregnancy can decrease your risk of pre-eclampsia (a condition where your blood pressure can become dangerously high), post-natal depression and have a positive effect on gestational length, your baby’s visual function, neurological development and head circumference. DHA Improves Cognitive Function in Children Mothers with higher plasma DHA levels during pregnancy have babies with more mature sleep patterns at birth. Many studies have shown that breastfed babies have consistently higher developmental outcomes than formula-fed infants and that babies born of mothers who supplemented DHA during pregnancy scored higher on cognitive function tests at 7 years. Diet & Supplementation Affect DHA Levels The level of DHA found in your placenta and breastmilk is largely determined by your diet. DHA, and its companion fat EPA, are mainly found in oily fish, such as sardines and salmon. Vegan women who eat no animal products have the lowest levels of DHA in their breast milk compared with women who regularly eat fish, who have the highest levels of DHA in their milk. EPA and DHA can also be synthesized in the body from a different fat, alpha-linolenic acid or ALA (found in flaxseed oil) but studies have shown that the rate of this conversion is very limited, although it may be higher in pregnant women. In fact, supplementing with ALA or flaxseed oil during breastfeeding has been shown to increase the ALA content of breastmilk but have no effect on DHA. Unsafe Mercury Levels in Fish As some types of large fish such as flake/shark, marlin, broadbill and swordfish have been found to have unsafe levels of mercury, pregnant women should only consume them once a fortnight, with no other fish to be consumed during that fortnight. For orange roughy and catfish, the advice is to eat no more than one serve per week, with no other fish consumed in that time. I personally recommend all my patients, whether pregnant or trying to conceive, to buy a practitioner-only brand of fish oils as they have to meet the highest standards of manufacture, ensuring the safest, cleanest oil with the lowest amount of contaminants. References Carnielli VP, Wattimena DJL, Luijendijk IHT, et al. (1996) The very low birth weight premature infant is capable of synthesizing arachidonic and docosahexaenoic acids from linoleic and linolenic acids. Pediatr Res 40:169-174. Cheruku SR, Montgomery-Downs HE, Farkas SL, Thoman EB, Lammi-Keefe CJ (2002) Higher maternal docosahexaenoic acid during pregnancy is associated with more mature neonatal sleep-state patterning. Am J Clin Nutr 76:608-613. Francois CA, Connor SL, Bolewicz LC, Connor WE (2003) Supplementing lactating women with flaxseed oil does not increase docosahexaenoic acid in their milk. Am J Clin Nutr 77:226-233. Gibson RA, Neumann MA, Makrides M (1997) Effect of increasing breast milk docosahexaenoic acid on plasma and erythrocyte phospholipid fatty acids and neural indices of exclusively breast fed infants. Eur J Clin Nutr. 51:578-84. Helland IB, Smith L, Blomén B, Saarem K, Saugstad OD, Drevon CA (2008) Effect of supplementing pregnant and lactating mothers with n-3 very-long-chain fatty acids on children's IQ and body mass index at 7 years of age Pediatrics. 122(2):e472-9 Makrides M, Gibson RA. Long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LCPUFA) requirements during pregnancy and lactation. Am J Clin Nutr 2000; 71: 307S-311S. Martinez M (1992) Tissue levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids during early human development. J Paediatr 120:S129-S38. Szajewska H, Horvath A, Koletzko B (2006) Effect on n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation of women with low-risk pregnancies on pregnancy outcomes and growth measures at birth: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Am J Clin Nutr 83:1337-3144. Williams CM, Burdge G (2006) Long-chain n-3 PUFA: plant v. marine sources. Proc Nutr Soc. 65:42-50. |
|
|
|
Blogs >
Essential Fats Increase Baby's IQposted 13 Sep 2009 04:42 by Alessandra Edwards [ updated 4 Oct 2009 02:59 ] |