Fish Oil During Pregnancy May Not Make Your Kid Smarter: Study

Taking fish oil during pregnancy may not result in the brainy effect on kids that moms hoped for, a new study suggests.

Researchers from the University of Granada in Spain found that taking fish oil during pregnancy does not seem to increase the intelligence of their progeny once the kids hit six years of age. Their work was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

In the study, researchers followed up with women who were participating in the Nutraceuticals for a Healthier Life study. In that study, the women took either fish oil, fish oil and a folate supplement, just folate or a placebo pill during the second half of their pregnancies, Reuters reported.

However, when the kids were six years old, they all performed about the same on tests measuring their smarts, researchers said.

"We observed no significant effect of supplementation on the cognitive function of children, but maternal DHA status may be related to later cognitive function in children," researchers wrote in the study.

Reuters reported that the children's diets were not measured in the study, though, which could potentially skew the results. Dr. Ingrid Helland, of Oslo University Hospital who conducted earlier research on the subject, told Reuters that she would still recommend fish oil supplementation during pregnancy, even if the scientific proof that the kid's smarts will increase may not be there.

The findings fall in line with a study published last year in the Journal of the American Medical Association, which also showed that babies didn't have any better cognitive development or acquisition of language if their moms took fish oil during pregnancy, the Los Angeles Times reported. In that study, researchers also found that DHA (docosahexaenoic acid, one of the omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil) didn't prevent women from having postpartum depression.

However, there are other reasons to take omega 3s during pregnancy (besides hoping that it'll make your kid smarter). The American Pregnancy Association says that adding DHA and EPA (another one of the fatty acids) to pregnant women's diets could have a positive impact on both the "visual and cognitive development of the child." The standard "western" diet is usually not very high in omega-3 fatty acids, so pregnant women might be depleted in the nutrients if they don't supplement with it, the association said.

And a study published earlier this year showed that pregnant women who consume a lot of omega-3 fatty acids, whether from supplements or from actual food sources, decrease their newborns' risk of colds.

Omega-3 fatty acids are commonly found in fish, like salmon and tuna, as well as some plants and nut oils, though they are also available in supplement form. However, the American Pregnancy Association cautions that some fish may have high levels of mercury, a toxin, and that some fish oil pills have a higher quality than others, so pregnant women should be mindful about choosing the best kind of omega-3 supplementation.

For more on omega-3 fatty acids and their health benefits, click here.

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Comments

[Coromega]

03:52 PM on 10/06/2011

Hi Amanda,

This is certainly an interesting study—thank you for covering the study results in detail while still making sure your readers know about the other benefits of taking omega-3s during pregnancy. It’s true, most Americans are often omega-3 deficient since diets here are not usually high in omega-3 fatty acids. Of course, the exception is eating fish such as salmon and tuna as you indicated here, but as you pointed out it’s vital for women to find sources of omega-3s that are pure from contaminants. Coromega, an omega-3 supplement line, offers delicious daily Squeeze supplements that are molecularly distilled for purity, plus they have 300 percent better bioavailability than traditional soft gel pills– with no fishy aftertaste! Just one Squeeze pouch contains 650 mg of omega-3s, so a pregnant woman is guaranteed high levels of omega-3 every day.

Thank you for covering the benefits of omega-3s for pregnant women!

Jodie Munyer
The Coromega Company

[sabelmouse]

11:00 AM on 10/04/2011

who cares ? how early can competition begin ?
is this one of those yuppie things like mozart in the womb and flashcards at birth.
i'm just happy my children are healthy.

[onionboy]

03:20 AM on 10/04/2011

Not a lot of understanding of scientific method among these posts. Mainly, people complain that the subjects should have continually been given Omega-3 or should have been restricted from Omega-6 or any other confounding addition.

The study asked a specific question and answered it in a specific way. That's smart science. Trying to include every idea into one study simply provides results with no statistical significance of anything because of too many confounding factors.

Those other issues people want included should be asked and designed in other studies, not used to ruin one nicely designed study.

[ddanimal]

01:40 AM on 10/06/2011

The problem isnt with the science. The problem is in the reporting.

This study is useful, absolutely. To me, it emphasizes the importance of taking omega-3 continuously, and not just during pregnancy.

[onionboy]

02:57 AM on 10/06/2011

Actually, it doesn't say that at all. Another study where they ACTUALLY do the study on such a practice, that might. This study says not such thing, except possibly in your head.

I reiterate my first sentence.

[chiropractorjason]

08:03 PM on 10/03/2011

I find it interesting that the children were not given omega-3 after birth. Omega-3 is used in your body, it doesn't just hang around for the rest of your life. I would be interested in a study that continued to administer omega-3 and then test their intelligence. There is lots of research pointing to the omega-3 and intelligence. Here is one of them http://backpainandpregnancy.blogspot.com/2010/01/although-not-strictly-back-pain.html

[onionboy]

01:31 PM on 10/03/2011

I always find it odd when an article attempts to "balance" actual research results with simple statements as a counter-argument.

For instance I went to the "The American Pregnancy Association says.." link. The APA had no links or citations to any research other than research into the content of some supplements and the mercury levels in fish. There was no reference to any research supporting improved visual or cognitive development...just the nebulous phrase that it "could", but no support whatsoever. That's what stands as a counter-argument nowadays.

Granted, the article did provide a link that led to a link to a Pediatrics article about infection reductions. That's good. Though that research has nothing to do with the point of this article.

[ddanimal]

12:50 PM on 10/03/2011

This is a weak study. Were the researchers TRYING to not find anything?

the doses were low (500mg DHA and 150mg EPA).
They started at the 20th week of pregnancy, and stopped at birth (DHA and EPA continue to be expressed in breast milk)
They did not control for omega-6 overload, which blocks the beneficial effects of omega 3s.
Cognitive function was tested SIX YEARS after omega-3 supplementation was stopped. This is ridiculous because the brain needs a constant intake of omega-3s.

No wonder they didnt find anything.

What is surprising/disappointing is that Huffpo and the writers of this article interpret this paper as indicating that omega3s dont make kids smart. This is wrong. Omega 3s DO make children smarter, but they have to be taken continuously, and omega-6 intake must be limited.

This smells like a hit-piece against omega-3s and supplements generally. I have seen more of this kind of thing since Huffpo was sold to AOL. The health section is not nearly as good as it used to be.

[ddanimal]

09:01 PM on 10/02/2011

It sounds like the kids did not receive supplemental omega-3 after they were born. They only received omega-3 during pregnancy, and then were tested 6 years later.

Also, did they control for omega-6 intake? Too high consumption of omega-6 will block the benefits of omega-3s.

So, these results are not suprising to me.

The brain and body have a constant, never-end need for omega-3 fatty acids. The research is clear that omega-3 fatty acids improve brain function. Americans eating a conventional diet are typically severely deficient in omega-3, largely because they consumer too much omega-6.

[Donah]

07:46 AM on 10/01/2011

Assumingly wrong !!..... I grew up with fish oil.... Mom drank it by the gallons while shaping me and I gulpted it by the same gallon sizes trying to get smart.... Result:- I´m Smart !!.. Talk 4 languages in and out and collected 2 M´s in science.. Me & Ee... Mechanical and Electronic engineering...
So I assume you are quite wrong.... Donah..//

[greora2]

07:52 PM on 09/30/2011

Nope, you need to sleep in a Holiday in Express while taking it......

[mashtatopopcorn]

04:37 PM on 09/30/2011

People should consume omega-3's irregardless considering our society is saturated in omega-6's. Check out things like chia, flax or salba for high concentrations of omega-3's if you're concerned about toxins in fish.

[jmarworth]

04:16 PM on 09/30/2011

The only way go make your kid smarter is to give him smart genes. Intelligence is largely
determined by heredity and, thus, largely unchangeable. Just be sure that you marry or
get pregnant with someone really smart.

[mashtatopopcorn]

04:34 PM on 09/30/2011

I don't buy that at all. Diet definitely plays a role in your development, especially in the womb.

[ddanimal]

09:04 PM on 10/02/2011

Nonsense. Nutrition has a HUGE effect on brain function and intelligence.

Omega-3s are critical for intelligence and brain function. The design of this study is the reason why they didnt observe the effect. All the study showed was that omega-3 fatty acids taken during pregnancy have no effect SIX YEARS LATER, in a group of people that did not supplement supplement from 0-6 years.