ALA Omega 3 for expectant mothers and healthy baby

Taking a healthy diet,which includes carbohydrates,proteins and fats and also eating a variety of fruits and vegetables ensures good nutrition. Some of the important nutrients include:

Carbohydrates found in whole grain,cereals,rice,barley

Protein-rich foods like meat,eggs,cheese, milk

Vitamin C and Iron rich food

Folic acid,which is obtained from green leafy vegetables and is abundant in spinach. Its intake has been proved to limit the fetal neural tube defects.

Omega-3s,playing vital role for development of brain and retina

“Nowadays it has been observed in pediatric practice that mental retardation is often seen in new born babies and approximately 10% of children have impaired learning ability,while as many as 3% manifest some degree of mental retardation. This may be due to the deficiency of certain vital nutrient store in expectant mothers” says Dr. Sanjeev Bagai,Paediatric Batra Hospital

Moreover,a longitudinal study was done where around 11,000 pregnant mothers were monitored which showed that the children whose mothers had higher plasma concentration of ALA during pregnancy had higher IQ (Intelligence Quotient) level than the one who did not take OMEGA-3.

It has been found that 85% of women are deficient in these important omega 3 fatty acids. Studies show only 2% of pregnant women have diets that meet their needs for omega-3 and the other 98% takes less than 18% of the daily recommendation.

What are ALA based Omega-3s?

OMEGA-3s are unsaturated fatty acids,which are referred to as essential fatty acids. They are considered essential because our body cannot produce or synthesize them and so they have to be obtained from some food or supplements. One of the essential omega-3 fatty acids is ALA (alpha- linolenic acid) which is the principle fatty acid and gets converted in the body to long-chain omega-3 fatty acids,eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) & docoshexaenoic acid (DHA).

Omega 3 plays important role in pregnant woman

Pregnancy is divided into three trimesters. The first 12 weeks of pregnancy are considered to make up the first trimester. Weeks 13 to 28 are termed as the second trimester and weeks 29 to 40 constitute the third trimester. During the third trimester final weight gain takes place and this is the time when development of baby’s retina and brain takes place. So it is always best to take ALA based omega-3 rich diet and supplements either before or immediately after conceiving so that mother has enough stored ALA Omega 3 in her body which can be utilized by the foetus during the 3rd trimester and immediately after birth through mothers milk. ALA (alpha- linolenic acid) based omega-3 helps in the following:

*Development of baby’s brain

*Formation of retina and

* In developing the child’s nervous system.