DHA during pregnancy

In the following text, we will get more familiar about theDHA and we will see why it is given to pregnant women. The eicosapentaenoicacid, or EPA, and docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA, are two types of omega-3 fattyacids. The mother's milk contains the docosahexaenoic acid, which helps thebrain development of the baby. This polyunsaturated fat also does wonders forthe baby's growth, as well as for the central nervous system and the eyes. Asyou can see, this is a very important element that all future mothers shouldtake, but this is not the case. Most are not familiar with the benefits DHAbrings and we will see which they are.

DHA While Pregnant

Pregnancy will cause certain changes in a life of a woman. The body of a futuremother will bear increasing strain as the pregnancy develops. But diet is oneof the factors that influence this strain and with some modifications, it canbe reduced. The health of the mother and baby can be significantly improvedwith the use of DHA during pregnancy. The baby will depend on the mother afterthe delivery as well, so mother needs to have all nutrients the baby requires.Mother needs to have DHA in order to pass it on to its child. We cannot say howimportant DHA is for the baby and its development, so the mother needs to have sufficientamount of DHA in the system. In order to have sufficient amount of DHA, womenneed to eat food like meat, eggs, sardines, herring, sole, cod, halibut,salmon and other fish, since they are rich with DHA. Fish can have contaminantsand this is why doctors advise pregnant women to avoid them but they also avoidDHA in this way. The nutrients contained in the prenatal vitamins do not havesufficient amount of DHA. Taking supplements of DHA is advised if the rightamount of them is not consumed via food.

Benefits

Preterm labor is one of the benefits of taking DHA until the last trimester.Also, the problem of depression after the delivery may be avoided. Some otherbenefits include enhanced mental and visual development of the baby, increase ofthe baby's immunity, better sleeping patterns of the baby and better maturityof the central nervous system. The level of DHA in the mother's milk and bloodcan be increased with the help from DHA supplements. Formula with DHA is a goodchoice for your child, regardless of the mother's milk. The highest limit ofDHA a woman can consume during the day is 650 mg/day, while the lowest borderis 250mg/day. But be careful not to exceed these figures, since it can lead to certainproblems, such as increased baby's head circumference or overweight babies.