Fish Oil
May Improve Coordination in Infants
Children born to pregnant women who consumed fish oil supplements had better hand-eye coordination than those born to mothers who did not consume fish oil, according to new findings.*
In a double-blind trial, 98 pregnant women supplemented with 4 grams of fish oil (yielding 2.2 grams of DHA and 1.1 grams of EPA) or 4 grams of olive oil from the twentieth week of pregnancy until birth. The children were tested for language, behavior, practical reasoning, and hand-eye coordination at the age of 30 months. Those whose mothers took fish oil scored higher on the measures of language comprehension, average phrase length, and vocabulary. Hand-eye coordination skills were significantly greater among the children of mothers who were given fish oil.
“Maternal fish oil supplementation during pregnancy is safe for the fetus and infant, and may have potentially beneficial effects on the child's eye and hand coordination,” the authors concluded.
*Dunstan JA, Simmer K Dixon G, Prescott SL. Cognitive assessment at 21/2 years following fish oil supplementation in pregnancy: a randomized controlled trial. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed. 2006, Dec 21; [Epub ahead of print]
