Should You Be Taking Fish Oil During Pregnancy
- Because of the high rate of depression among such women
- And the fact that a lactating mother must provide DHA fats via her breast feeding to her hungry baby, which is required for the babies all important brain development.
Because sea food contains omega 3 fatty acids which enhances mood in the mother while adding to the fetus's brain development, it is understandable that such foods should be recommended with a few exceptions. The UK NHS recommends that pregnant women do not eat raw shellfish, in case of food poisoning which may make for a difficult pregnancy. They also recommend certain fish to avoid due to mercury contamination, such as shark, swordfish and marlin. Farmed fish is also questioned by some authorities along with fish that is high up in the food chain due to the elevated concentrations of such toxins.
Every mother wants an intelligent child, who wouldn't? But an healthy child which will grow up to be a responsible adult is even better. How would you like to have both? Well no one can predict the future, however trials do indicate that pregnant mothers who ate sea food 3 times a week develop children with higher than average mental skills along with fewer behavior problems. If that is not enough, such children had almost a 70% reduced risk of ever developing asthma and almost a 90% reduced risk of acquiring asthma related allergic reactions.
Indeed a recent Australian study found that women who took fish oil during the 2nd half of their pregnancy had toddlers who had boosted advanced eye to hand coordination along with improved verbal skills.
Why was the later stages of pregnancy used to test the powers of fish oil on pregnant women?
It appears that in the last 3 months of pregnancy, an unborn child experiences a sudden spurt of brain growth, which growth will be associated no doubt with DHA fats since they make up a large portion of the developing brain. Such fats are a major part of fatty fish and sea foods.
The NHS in the UK does not recommend the use of cod liver oil due to the fat soluble vitamins A and D found in such fish livers . However one study does suggest that such may prevent children's type 1 diabetes from ever developing. In view of the problem of the dangers associated with accumulated vitamin A, you would need to consult a qualified health professional about this particular data.
It is true that many women have been scared off from eating fish due to the issue of contaminants. This is all the more reason to explore and find the best fish oil supplement for pregnancy. The benefits of fish oil to mother and child are so profound and exciting, that fish fats cannot be ignored. The problems of toxicity are dealt with by molecularly distillation and by fish taken from the cleanest waters in the world, which happens to be the Antarctic to be exact.
Related Articles To: Fish Oil During Pregnancy:
Fish Oil DHA Pregnancy