Prenatal supplements largely lack the recommended amount of omega-3 fatty acids to help prevent preterm birth

Medical Xpress / The Conversation / American Journal of Perinatology ^ | Dec. 4, 2024 | Mary Scourboutakos, et al

[ConservativeMind]

Most prenatal supplements lack the amount of omega-3 fatty acids that could help prevent preterm birth, meaning delivery before 37 weeks' gestation. This is a key finding of a new study, published by my team.

Omega-3 fatty acids are essential nutrients that are found largely in fatty fish. They help prevent inflammation and, by doing so, decrease the risk of preterm birth.

Our study, however, showed that roughly 1 in 6 prenatal supplements on the market in the U.S. that contain omega-3 fatty acids provide the amount that is needed by most pregnant women.

My colleagues and I used the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Dietary Supplement Label Database to identify prenatal supplements that contained omega-3 fatty acids. We then compared the stated amount of omega-3s on the product labels with the recommended amounts in the new guidelines published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology Maternal-Fetal Medicine by a team of experts representing international obstetric and child health organizations.

We found that 70% of the prenatal supplements that contained omega-3s provided the amount that is recommended for women with adequate intakes. However, previous research has shown that only 5% of pregnant women and women of childbearing age consume adequate amounts of omega-3 fatty acids.

A Cochrane review of 26 randomized controlled trials demonstrated that 1,000 milligrams of supplemental omega-3 fatty acids per day can decrease risk of preterm birth by 11%, and risk of early preterm birth—delivery before 34 weeks' gestation—by 42%.

Considering that prenatal supplements often don't contain the required amount of omega-3s, one option is to simply take an additional omega-3 supplement alongside a prenatal vitamin to supply the difference.

Nevertheless, omega-3 supplements are not always necessary. The new guidelines recommend that all women of childbearing age should consume 250 milligrams of omega-3s per day.

[ConservativeMind]

Only one out of every six prenatal vitamins has the right amount of Omega-3s for the mom and the growing infant.

[logi_cal869]

I would argue that NONE of them do.

[Qiviut]

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