Women in the western world are exhibiting a tendency not to carry their babies to term. This may be due to an insufficient intake of omega-3 fatty acids. Pregnant women should eat a lot of fish and/or take an omega-3 supplement. Omega-3 fatty acids can help bring pregnancies to term!

Balance between omega-3 and omega-6
The human diet includes several different types of fats. In western societies, most people eat more solid fats rich in saturated fatty acids and less soft fats rich in unsaturated fatty acids than they did a century or two ago. In addition, people now eat a different type of soft fats. Today, the average diet contains an excess of corn, soy or other plant food oils rich in omega-6 fatty acids, while it is low in the soft fats from fish that are so rich in omega-3 fatty acids.

Well documented
A study from the Faeroe Islands indicates that the type of fatty acids in our diet may influence the length of human gestation. There, women there still deliver their babies after the customary 9 months of gestation, while a high percentage of their sisters in Denmark go into labor almost a week earlier. The difference is thought to be a result of the marine diet eaten on the Faeroes. In a study, pregnant Danish women were given concentrated omega-3 fatty acids during their final trimester, prolonging their pregnancy by an average of four days compared with the control group*. In another study (the FOETIP study), compared with the controls**, mothers who had previously experienced premature deliveries reduced this pattern significantly when given concentrated omega-3 fatty acids.

It would seem prudent for an expectant mother to eat more fish, especially during the last trimester of her pregnancy, or to take an omega-3 dietary supplement every day. The Danish studies were based on a daily dose of 4 grams of Pikasol containing a total of 2.4 grams of omega-3 fatty acids. Women should continue this regimen for as long as they breast feed. If they choose not to provide their babies with nature's most perfect food – breast milk – they should use an infant formula fortified with omega-3 fatty acids.

* Olsen SF et al. Randomized controlled trial of effect of fish-oil supplementation on pregnancy duration. The Lancet 1992;339:1003-1007
** Personal communication; article in progress.

Important for fetal mental development
Children's mental development may be influenced by their mothers' diet during pregnancy, and by whether the child has been breast fed or received formula. Premature infants need breast milk from mothers that have sufficient amounts of omega-3 fatty acids in their diet or, alternatively, an infant formula fortified with omega-3 fatty acids.

Last three months of pregnancy through first six months after birth
The human brain and the retina of the eye consist largely of fatty tissue characterized by long-chain polyunsaturates. In addition to providing energy, the fatty acids in our diet provide important building blocks for the brain and the retina of the eye. To optimize the development of the fetus and the infant, it is important to ensure a sufficient intake of omega-3 fatty acids, especially during the last trimester of pregnancy and the first six months after birth. To accomplish this, most mothers-to-be need to include omega-3 fatty acids in their diet during their pregnancy and breastfeeding period.

Omega-3 assures the intellectual development
Children born at term demonstrate a difference in mental development between those who get sufficient omega-3 fatty acids from breast milk or fortified infant formula, and those who received non-fortified infant formula based solely on vegetable oils which are rich in omega-6 fatty acids, but low in omega-3 fatty acids. It has convincingly been proven that children who are born at term and get sufficient amounts of omega-3 fatty acids tend to have a better intellectual capacity than children who receive standard infant formulae (P Willatts, JS Forsyth, MK DiModugno, S Varma, M Colvin (1998), University of Dundee, Scotland, The Lancet 28 Aug. 1998).

Premature infants run a high risk of spending their first months of life in hospital. The handicap of being born prematurely may even persist throughout their lifetimes. When, in addition to struggling with prematurely, these children are given infant formula without omega-3 fatty acids, they risk permanent reductions in their mental and visual development. It has also been shown that individuals born prematurely are more prone to develop hypertension later in life, and insufficiently treated hypertension is a risk factor for the premature development of coronary heart disease. (Siewert-delle A. Long term renal function in primary hypertension. Acad. thesis University of Gothenburg 1998).

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