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People have known for a long time that fish oils are good for your health. But during pregnancy, one must look at health axioms for the general public with a critical eye. One must consider what's healthiest for mother and infant. So is it smart for expecting women to take fish oil supplements?

Pregnant women, who need the Omega 3 fatty acid, should supplement with a fish oil that does not contain any Vitamin A or D in it. Cod liver oil, and other oils made from fish livers, contain Vitamin A and D. These are NOT found in pure fish oil. The Omega 3 is certainly different than the Cod liver oil that some remember taking as children years ago.

Fish oil supplements which are made from the flesh of fish are safe for expectant mother to take. In fact, fish oil of this type has been shown to have positive effects on the health of the unborn child as well as the mother. In particular, the intake of a substance called omega 3 is recommended during pregnancy.

Omega 3 fatty acids are extremely important to the development of the unborn fetus, even more so during the last three months of pregnancy. The unborn child's brain and eyes depend on this essential nutrient from the mother. While the human brain is composed of 8% of the Omega 3, it is also shown that a low intake of this during the last 3 months of pregnancy can actually lower a child's IQ, cause poor hand-eye coordination, and difficulty making friends.

These days, health literature often writes about the essential Omega 3 fatty acids. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) are the beneficial elements in Omega 3. Since the human body is incapable of manufacturing Omega 3 fatty acids, it must be ingested in the form of food or diets supplements. Fish such as sardines, salmon and mackerel provides lots of Omega 3. On the other hand, because of the high concentrations of metal in fish, consuming fish during pregnancy is not without concerns.

%NL% Plants especially like flax and pumpkin seeds contain a substance named ALA, which is an omega of three fatty acids, which body is naturally unable to convert ALA in soluble and usable form meeting prescribed and recommended amount for pregnant women. To avail expecting mothers to get enough, they should be given dietary supplements of muscles of fish containing these oils.

Omega 3 benefits during pregnancy are not limited to the child - it has also been shown to alleviate depression which is all too common among mothers-to-be. There are many companies which market high quality fish oil supplements suitable for pregnant women. These are guaranteed to be free from fish liver oils and have been processed so that the oils are more easily absorbed by the body. There are so many benefits to taking omega 3 supplements during pregnancy that it would be foolish not to consider them.