A new article in the September issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reports that the children of mothers who had high intakes of fatty fish during pregnancy showed to have higher development scores than those children of mothers with low fatty fish intake during pregnancy.

The study, led by Emily Oken of Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, showed that higher intake of omega-3s from fish not only show positive impact on the health of the pregnancy but also had positive effects on the mental and visual development of infant.

The study, which investigated over 25,000 children born to mothers taking part in the Danish National Birth cohort, reported that the children born to mothers who consumed the most fish during pregnancy were more likely to have the highest developmental scores at the age of 18 months as compared to the other children born of mothers with lower fish intake.   However, at age 6 months, there was not much difference in the developmental level of the children.

The authors also included that breastfeeding had a positive effect on development, in all groups.   Children who were breast fed for 10 months, regardless of the mothers consumption of fish, were 28% more likely to have higher developmental scores compared to the those children breastfed for only 1 month.

This study reinforces the use of omega-3s for mothers.  Many omega-3 experts and enthusiasts report that women who get a high level of omega-3s experience healthy pregnancies and promote mental and visual development in infant s.  Omega-3s consumption by pregnant women may also reduce the risk of post partum depression or mood change and lead to a quicker recovery time.

The authors concluded that “Future research and consumption guidelines, incorporating nutritional benefits as well as contaminant risks, should consider the overall effect of prenatal fish consumption on child development.”  Concerns about pollutants or contaminants in fish and fish oil supplements, as well as concerns over compromised fish stocks continue to be of great concern.  However, the majority of fish oil omega-3 supplements are molecularly distilled which effectively removes contaminates and new, alternate sources of omega-3s promise to ease the burden on global fisheries.

Source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
September 2008, Number 3, Volume 88, Pages 789-796
“Associations of maternal fish intake during pregnancy and breastfeeding duration with attainment of developmental milestones in early childhood: a study from the Danish National Birth Cohort”
Authors: E. Oken, M.L. Osterdal, M.W. Gillman, V.K. Knudsen, T.I. Halldorsson, M. Strom, D.C. Bellinger, M. Hadders-Algra, K.F. Michaelsen, S.F. Olsen