Assessing the effects of antenatal omega-3 long chain
polyunsaturated fatty acid on cognitive development in
children whose mothers received high dose fish oil in
pregnancy.
Fish oil supplements given to pregnant mums boost the
hand-eye co-ordination of their babies as toddlers,
study findings show.
Janet Dunstan, from the University of Western
Australia, and co-researchers base their findings on
83 pregnant women, who were given either 4 grams of
fish oil supplements or 4 grams of olive oil
supplements daily from 20 weeks of pregnancy until the
birth of their babies.
Once the children had reached 2.5 years of age, they
were assessed using validated tests to measure growth
and development, which tapped skills in language,
behavior, practical reasoning, and hand-eye
coordination.
In all, 72 children were assessed (33 in the fish oil
group and 39 in the olive oil group).
Language skills and growth did not differ between the
two groups of children. However, those whose mothers
had taken fish oil supplements scored more highly on
measures of receptive language (comprehension),
average phrase length, and vocabulary.
Moreover, children whose mothers had taken fish oil
supplements scored significantly higher in hand-eye
coordination than those whose mothers had taken the
olive oil supplements.
High cord blood levels of omega 3 fatty acids at birth
(from fish oil) were strongly associated with good
hand-eye coordination, while low levels of omega 6
fatty acids, found in many vegetable oils, were not.
"Maternal fish oil supplementation during pregnancy is
safe for the fetus and infant, and may have
potentially beneficial effects on the child's eye and
hand coordination," Dunstan et al conclude.
Posted: 03 January 2007
© 2007 Current Medicine Group Ltd, a part of Springer
Science+Business Media
Angela Callais
Doula, MamaLuna Doulas (website coming soon!)
http://www.mamalunadoulas.com/angela.htm
612.722.3676/612.600.6600
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Childbirth Mentor
(taught by Pam England, author of Birthing from Within)
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Board Member, Childbirth Collective
http://www.childbirthcollective.org |
