As a new parent, making sure your newborn is getting the right nutrition is bound to be a priority—and that’s normal! Proper early stage nutrition is key to establishing a healthful pathway for your child. Omega-3s are essential for so many aspects of early growth and development, particularly for the brain, the eyes and the cardiovascular system where omega-3s are really concentrated.¹ It is important that pregnant and breastfeeding mothers are consuming adequate amounts to help provide the most benefits to their newborn.

It has been shown that the amount of omega-3s that a mother ingests directly impacts how much omega-3 is in her fetus.¹ When a baby is forming in the womb, organs start developing at a rapid rate, and good omega-3 nutrition is particularly vital to proper brain and retina (found in the eye) development.¹ How do omega-3s contribute to proper brain and eye health in fetal development? Let’s focus on the eyes. Omega-3s are embedded in the membrane of the photoreceptors in our eyes’ retinas. This means that of all the fatty acids in the membrane of our eyes, long-chain omega-3s make up approximately 60% of the total.² DHA is the most important long chain omega-3 for the brain and eye health of an infant, contributing to normal eyesight and brain function.¹

To obtain long-chain omega-3 fatty acid health, it is recommended that pregnant or breastfeeding moms consume 8-12 ounces of seafood per week, based on the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.^1,3

Knowing these important roles of omega-3s in fetal development, many studies have sought to understand the benefits of maternal omega-3 supplementation during pregnancy and lactation. One study evaluating the effects of supplementation, with a total of almost 2.5g (2,500mg) omega-3s, during pregnancy and lactation found that supplementation favorably impacted children’s mental processing scores, reflecting differences in mental development.⁴Benefits of omega-3 supplementation during pregnancy have included enhanced infant problem-solving skills, improved hand and eye coordination among children, and decreased levels of inflammation in mothers.¹ A recent study published in 2018 examined whether low plasma levels of omega-3 fatty acids in Danish mothers were associated with an increased risk of early preterm birth and found that women who had the lowest amount of EPA plus DHA had a 10 times greater risk of early preterm birth compared to women who had the highest amounts of EPA plus DHA.⁵ This showcases the importance of dietary omega-3 intake impacting birth outcomes. The changes during infancy and childhood are fast and exciting—motor development and dietary patterns are established—and then the teenage years…

References:

1. Swanson D, Block R, Mousa SA. Omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA: health benefits throughout life. Adv Nutr. 2012;3(1):1-7. doi:10.3945/an.111.000893
2. Birch DG, Birch EE, Hoffman DR, Uauy RD. Retinal development in very-low-birth-weight infants fed diets differing in omega-3 fatty acids. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 1992;33(8):2365-2376.
3. US Department of Health and Human Services; US Department of Agriculture. 2015–2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Washington, DC; 2015. https://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/. Accessed May 30, 2018.
4. Helland IB, Smith L, Saarem K, Saugstad OD, Drevon CA. Maternal supplementation with very-long-chain n-3 fatty acids during pregnancy and lactation augments children’s IQ at 4 years of age. Pediatrics. 2003;111(1):e39-e44. doi:10.1542/peds.111.1.e39
5. Olsen SF, Halldorsson TI, Thorne-Lyman AL, et al. Plasma concentrations of long chain n-3 fatty acids in early and mid-pregnancy and risk of early preterm birth. EBioMedicine. 2018;0(0). doi:10.1016/j.ebiom.2018.07.009