Do you know the importance of and relationship between pregnancy and fish oil consumption? Here are 5 must-know facts about the consumption of fish oil and pregnancy.
#1. A fetus needs large amounts of DHA and EPA omega-3 fatty acids to develop properly.
Omega-3 fatty acids offer critical nutrients for the neurological development of your baby. They also promote the development of it’s cardiac and respiratory systems and support the development of the brain and eyes (particularly the retinas and enhanced visual function).
#2. As far as pregnancy and fish oil consumption goes, the more DHA omega-3 that’s available to your baby, the greater cognitive and attention span they’ll have.
This is even true during the nursing period as well. The brain is actually made up of more than 30% DHA omega-3 fatty acids. And if a baby has a high attention span, it’s assumed that it’s intelligence is high (it’s a fundamental non-verbal measurement of intelligence). The more of this substance that’s available to your baby, the better it will be able to develop.
#3. Since pregnant mothers are not encouraged to eat too much fish (because of the contaminants they contain), the only way to get a healthy supply of omega-3s is to take a fish oil supplement.
There are significant traces of contaminants like mercury, PCBs, lead, and other heavy metals in fish, which is why pregnant women should not consume much of it. As long as you get a supplement that’s been purified and molecularly distilled, you don’t have to worry about ingesting contaminants that’ll potentially harm your child.
#4. If you don’t consume enough DHA and EPA omega-3 fatty acids in your diet, your baby will take them from YOUR brain.
That’s right. No matter what, your baby will get DHA omega-3 from somewhere. The only place where it can be gotten is from the brain of it’s mother. In fact, after giving birth, some mothers have lost up to 3% of their brain cells because of a lack of omega-3s in their diet. If you have 3 kids, you could possibly loose up to 10% of your brain cells!
#5. There is a correlation between the consumption of fish oil and pregnancy length.
The more omega-3 fatty acids that a mother has in her body, the less risk there is of pre-term labor and premature delivery. Sometimes, when babies are born too early, they aren’t able to fully develop to the point where they can function on their own. In fact, I was even born a month early and had to stay in an incubator for a whole month!
Just make sure that before you get a brand of fish oil, properly educate yourself so you know what to look for in a safe and quality supplement.