Taking fish oil supplements during pregnancy can enhance the eye-hand coordination of the babies subsequently born, a study by Australian researchers has found. The study checked the effects of fish oil supplements and olive oil supplements on a group of 98 pregnant women and found that those who took fish oil supplements improved many of their children's cognitive skills.
Under the study, 98 women were assigned randomly to receive 4 gm of fish oil supplements or 4 gm of olive oil supplements. While fish oil is rich in omega 3 fatty acids, olive oil contains omega 6 fatty acids. The women in the study were 20 weeks pregnant when the study began and were made to take the supplements till childbirth. Around eighty three of the subjects took the study till its end.
Later, when the 72 children born turned two and a half year old, the researchers made them take tests that measured their cognitive, behavioral, language and eye-hand coordination skills. Of the 72 children, 33 were born to mothers that took fish oil supplements, while 39 belonged to women who were in the olive oil group.
“Children who received prenatal fish oil supplementation tended to perform better in all subscales of development and had higher scores for receptive language, average phrase length and vocabulary scores when assessed at an average age of 34 months,” the researchers wrote in a report published in the
Archives of Disease in Childhood.
Though there were little obvious differences between the two groups in language skills and overall growth, a major difference was noted in the eye-hand coordination test. “In eye and hand coordination (test), the difference was statistically significant when the fish oil group was compared with controls,” the researchers added.
The vocabulary and the ability to understand things and grasp their meaning were also strengthened in children belonging to the fish oil supplements group. Earlier studies have shown that fish oil supplements can help mothers increase their child's birth weight and also lower postpartum depression. “These preliminary data indicate that supplementation with a relatively high-dose fish oil during the last 20 weeks of pregnancy is not only safe but also seems to have potential beneficial effects that need to be explored further,” the authors, led by Susan Prescott, wrote.
Fish oil contains omega 3 fatty acids, which have been found to have many health benefits, including those on cardiovascular, cognitive and even behavioral functions. Certain studies have suggested that these fatty acids can help control autism in children. However, due to mercury poisoning risk, pregnant women are often advised against eating fish till the birth of their babies. Fish oil supplements help lower that risk.
Food and Behaviour Research, a UK charity group that analyses the effects of foods on behavior, hailed the findings. “I'm not at all surprised by the findings, which demonstrate the benefits of omega 3 fatty acids to the developing brain. Pregnant women have been scared off eating fish because of the mercury risks but they can take high quality capsules if they are concerned,” said the charity's director Dr Alex Richardson to a UK news site.
Dr Richardson added that omega 3 fatty acids were good for the health of any age group. “Omega 3 is vital at all stages of life. There is international proof of the benefits for people with heart conditions and we are heading that way with studies on children's learning and behavior,” she added.
