Increase Your Intake Of Omega-3 Fatty Acids During Pregnancy

Your newborn’s health status is completely dependent upon the kind of nutritional decisions that you make during your pregnancy, unless of course some other complications mess up your child’s health.

Your physician would generally prescribe some health supplements and multivitamins to ensure the well being of the baby growing inside you.  Apart from taking supplements and multivitamins you need to make changes in your food habits so as to inculcate nutritional substances which are beneficial for the health of your child. One such nutritional element that we would like to lay focus on is Omega -3 Fatty Acids.

Benefits of omega-3 fatty acids

These fatty acids are more needed for the proper development of the child’s brain. It has been observed that a deficiency of omega-3 fatty acids during pregnancy can lead to neutral and visual under development. There are many studies which indicate a direct relationship between deficiency of omega-3 fatty acids and the likelihood of the newborn having an underdeveloped brain.

The saddest part is that nearly 50 percent of pregnant women don’t consume as much omega-3 fatty acid as they should be consuming for the proper development of the brain of their baby. Apart from the brain development of the child, these fatty acids are also believed to cut down the odds of pre-term labor. So that’s another reason why you need to focus on these healthy fatty acids.

The way out

Taking omega-3 supplements is definitely one of the options. But instead of piling up on supplements, think about adding such foods to your diet that are rich in these fatty acids. Fish and fish oil are the richest source of these fatty acids, but for the vegans and the vegetarians, flax seed oil is the best alternative. However, flax seed oil must be used strictly in moderation because its laxative properties can turn out to be a problem at times.