Omega 3 fish oil with balanced EPA and DHA ratios is essential for smart, healthy babies. The EPA and DHA in certain fish plays such a vital role in fetus development that some scientists recommend pregnant women need as much as you would get from a daily serving of salmon (about 900 mgs).

Yet, according to food consumption surveys, 85% of all women are deficient in these omega 3 fatty acids. Among pregnant women, only 2% had diets that met their needs of EPA and DHA. The rest are getting less than 18% of the recommended daily allowance. This deficiency is blamed on the depletion of omega 3 oils in our food and the trend against eating oil rich fish, such as salmon.

Scientists believe the need for an adequate intake of EPA and DHA begins before conception. Women need omega 3 oils to produce healthy eggs and men need them for the production, energy and mobility of their sperm. (Just think of how strong salmon needs to be to swim upstream for spawning.)

EPA and DHA are also essential for optimum growth and development of a baby’s brain and nervous system. They make up nearly 70% of a newborn baby’s brain, retina and nervous system. A deficiency is also linked to the risk of premature births and abnormally low birth weights.

And the only way the fetus can get EPA and DHA is from the mother. In fact, the amount that’s passed on to her baby’s brain and nervous system during the last trimester of pregnancy is entirely dependent upon how much high quality fish oil mom is getting in her daily diet.

A lack of these essential oils can also put the mother at risk for both pre-eclampsia (pregnancy-related high blood pressure) and post-partum depression. A pregnant woman, for example, may lose as much as 3% of her own brain mass when she’s transferring EPA and DHA to her baby over the last three months of pregnancy. Many scientists now consider this brain loss to be a major cause of post-partum depression. Women with post-partum depression have also been found to have very low levels of omega 3 fatty acids in their mother’s milk and red blood cells.

To be as healthy as possible and to have optimally healthy children, women either need to eat lots of fatty fish such as salmon or supplement their diets daily with high quality fish oil containing balanced EPA and DHA. It helps to prevent pre-eclampsia and post-partum depression, while at the same time insuring that baby gets what’s necessary to go full term, to maintain a good body weight and to have a healthy, well developed brain and nervous system.

Moss Greene is the Nutrition Editor for BellaOnline.com and an authority on essential fatty acids, such as fish oil. Over the past 30 years, she’s helped thousands of people to look better, think smarter and feel great – naturally. Visit Moss at nutrition.bellaonline.com to learn more and subscribe to her free health and fitness newsletter.

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