Omega-3 in pregnancy

LCPs are long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids that derive from essential fatty acids ALA and LA, and which are important for your baby’s health and development. ALA and LA are called essential fatty acids because the body is unable to make them itself. This means that we need to get them from the foods we eat every day in our diet. 

In this article, we’ll be focussing on omega-3 and omega-6 LCPs, of which it’s important that all healthy adults (including pregnant women) get a healthy ratio of in their diets.

The most important examples of omega-3 LCP fatty acids are docosahexaenoic acid (or DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)².

According to research, a large part of the population isn’t getting enough omega-3 fatty acids³. For pregnant women, getting enough omega-3 fatty acids is very important, as they play a crucial role in the health of you and your growing baby.

Benefits of DHA and EPA omega-3 fatty acids for you

DHA and EPA are important for a healthy heart and may protect from heart disease. They’re also important for your lungs and blood vessels and help to support your hormone and immune systems⁴. 

EPA and DHA may also encourage positive pregnancy outcomes, such as preventing preterm labour⁵. In addition, there’s evidence to suggest that omega-3 fatty acids can reduce the likelihood of depression both during your pregnancy and postpartum (also known as perinatal depression). 

Benefits of DHA and EPA omega-3 fatty acids for your baby

DHA and EPA have been shown to support foetal growth, especially of your baby’s eyes and rapidly developing brain, laying the foundations for their learning and development skills throughout their life². It can also help your baby’s nervous system to develop⁶.

Additional benefits of DHA and EPA for your baby may include:

• A healthy birth weight⁵

• A reduced risk of eczema and food allergies²

• Support of bone growth⁷

Just like omega-3 fatty acids, omega-6 have been shown to have a beneficial effect on the heart health due to their ability to positively impact cholesterol in the blood⁸.

It’s important for all healthy adults, to get a healthy ratio of both omega-3 and omega-6 LCPs, including pregnant women, as there’s some indication that this could be linked to a reduction of childhood asthma³. However, further research is needed to confirm the benefits.

An increased ratio of omega-6/omega-3 observed in the last decades may be linked to an increase in autoimmune and allergic diseases³. Therefore, it’s important that we eat a diet rich in omega-3 and maintain a healthy omega-6/omega-3 ratio.

There’s no hard and fast rule about how much omega-3 pregnant women should be consuming. Oily fish is a rich source of omega-3 but due to higher levels of pollutants compared to other seafood, the NHS advises that pregnant and breastfeeding women should not eat more than two portions of oily fish per week, such as salmon, sardines and mackerel⁶.

If you’re following a vegetarian or vegan diet, nuts and seeds are a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, as are⁹:

• Green leafy vegetables

• Vegetable oils (flaxseed oil is a good example)

• Soya products 

Yes, omega-3 fatty acids are safe for pregnant women to eat as part of a healthy and balanced diet. As discussed above, itthey haves numerous health benefits for you and your baby.

However, whilst oily fish is the richest source of omega-3 fatty acids, it’s important to follow the guidelines around how much of it you should eat. There are also certain types of fish that you should avoid, such as shark, swordfish and marlin. This is due to that fact that oily fish can contain pollutants or mercury which can affect your growing baby’s development⁶.

You can read more about eating fish in pregnancy here.  

Whilst there’s no set recommendation to take omega-3 fish oil supplements during pregnancy, you may be advised to do so by your doctor if you’re thought to be at risk of preterm labour¹⁰.

However, the NHS advises that fish oil supplements that contain fish liver oil, such as cod liver oil, should be avoided. This is because they contain vitamin A which can be harmful in high quantities to babies in the womb. Supplements to avoid include¹¹:

• Fish liver oil supplements, such as cod liver oil

• High-dose multivitamin supplements

• Any supplements containing vitamin A (also known as retinol) 

Oily fish is the richest source of omega-3 fatty acids. As well as salmon, mackerel and sardines, other good examples include⁴:

• Kippers 
• Herring 
• Whitebait

Seafood such as crab, oysters and mussels are all good sources of omega-3 but be sure to cook them thoroughly if you intend to eat them during your pregnancy^{6, 12} .

Good vegetarian sources of omega-3 include walnuts, omega 3-enriched eggs, flaxseeds, hemp seeds, chia seeds, leafy green vegetables and soy products like tofu.

Try these tasty ideas to boost your omega-3 intake:

• Salmon & haddock sweet potato pie
• Sardines on toast.
• Grilled mackerel.
• A handful of walnuts.
• Omega 3-enriched eggs with corn and courgette fritters