74: Omega 3 and Fish Oil Supplements During Pregnancy

Omega 3 fatty acids, especially DHA are vital during pregnancy.  Your body cannot make omega 3s and you must get them from your diet or a supplement.  There is clear evidence that Omega 3s are important both during your pregnancy, and in the postpartum period when you are breastfeeding. Omega 3s, like DHA, are important for the development of your baby’s brain and eyes, improving neurodevelopmental outcomes and IQ, decreasing risk of infant allergies, preventing preterm birth, and lowering your risk for postpartum depression. The issue is that it can be tough to get enough omega 3s from your diet alone, without a supplement. The omega 3 and fish oil supplement industry is $1.2 billion dollar industry, with a ton of marketing claims it can be a real challenge to find the right supplement. This episode breaks down everything you need to know to decide whether an omega 3 supplement is right for you during your pregnancy, and gives you tips to choosing the right one.

Show notes: http://pregnancypodcast.com/episode74/

Thank you to Zahler for their support of this episode. Zahler makes a high quality prenatal vitamin that has the active form of folate, that I refer after all of the research I have read on folic acid, plus it has omega 3s and DHA. This is the prenatal vitamin I take and the one I recommend. Zahler was very generous and gave me a promo code I can share with you so you can save 25% off when you buy a month supply on Amazon. To order them today go to http://amzn.to/2nOuFVB and enter the promo code PREPOD25 when you checkout.