Genesis Fertility Clinic Blog
searching: “dha”
October 19, 2009
DHA and pregnancy
Once we help a couple get pregnant one of the most common question I get asked is “what supplements should I take?” Seems there’s lots of advice given out at health food stores, pharmacies and by our friends about all sorts of things like raspberry tea, coenzyme Q10, fish oil, ginger, vitamin B6, etc.
What have large studies of women in the developed world shown that pregnant woman should be taking? A multivitamin containing folic acid (0.4mg to 1.0mg unless you are in a high risk group for a neural tube defect) and perhaps DHA. That’s it. We need iodine to prevent thyroid disease in the newborn but we get enough in our salt in Canada. So, if you have a reasonable diet and take a multivitamin with folic acid (the best studied are Materna and Pregvit) and perhaps some DHA you are doing everything right from a evidence-based nutrition perspective.
Sure, some people swear you should take extra B6 or a miriad of different herbs, but until a big studies suggests there is a benefit, and most importantly no harm, I’d stick with the basics. DHA is an interesting one…. there is some evidence that it helps with an infant’s gross motor control and visual acuity if taken in pregnancy. When to take it and how much isn’t clear. So, what do I take (I am 38 weeks pregnant now)? I take a DHA supplement daily that has been purified from fish oil (NOT fish oil as many preparations have too much vitamin A) that has 900mg of DHA and 180mg of EPA. The Institute of Medicine in the USA recommends 300mg/day while a similar European regulatory body suggests much more. So I take somewhere between the two. When to take it? Probably the last half of pregnancy – that’s when it’s been most widely studied.
I hope this helps… and if you are reading this I hope you have to decide on what supplements to take in pregnancy soon!
Dr. Beth Taylor, MD, FRCSC
Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility