Fish Oil During Pregnancy???

My OB/GYN prescribes pre-natal vitamins and DHA pills.
Yes, it is important for baby development/brain development/eye development etc.
Even in uetero and if breastfeeding you can take that and if not, baby Formula has it in it.

As for the quantity to take, you REALLY need to ask you OB/GYN.
A Doctor.

Fish oils are wonderful, I wish I had known about them with my previous pregnancies. I'm currently 27 weeks pregnant with # 4 and take Neevo DHA, it's prescribed to me by my OB and has fish oils already in it. My nurse also said it's great for absorbtion. Hopefully you can get something like Neevo, they've been great. My sister also takes them with her pregnancy and LOVES them too.

You can fine a lot of info online regarding the benefits of fish oil for the developing baby, it's amazing! It can also help with depression & post partum depression, etc.

P.S. Be careful which ones you buy OTC, ask your pharmacist what they recommend. Before I had my first OB appointment, I picked up some fish oil pills at the dollar general, they were HORRIBLE! Gave me bad indigestion and I kept burping fish, ugghhhh. The Neevo vitmains have never done that to me, but you won't be able to get those until your appt. so for now, just ask a pharmacist what they think is best for the pregnant body.

Good luck and congrats!!

Fish oil is awesome and you should be taking it. I like nordic naturals, the strawberry ones. They didn't bug me too much when I was pregnant.

I take two fish oil pills a day (recommended amount) and have been since getting pregnant. I also keep taking them while I'm breastfeeding- the oil is REALLY good for you and your baby's new little brain, but you skip out on all the mercury and what not that is found is so many of our fish these days.

Double check with your doc on your folic acid amount. I'm not sure taking that much is good for you or your baby!
:)

Just wanted to comment on the "fish burps" someone mentioned, which I have also heard from a friend. I started taking some Salmon Oil (not related to pregnancy but because i heard it help dry eyes--and it definitely seems to be helping with this) and I have only experience the "fish burps" twice. I suspect that this has to do with whether you take the with food or later after the food. The 2 times I had this experience, I did not take the pill directly with the food, so I suspect that the fish burp problem has to do with the digestion of the pill alone.

I took fish oil all through pregnancy & nursing, after doing lots of reading/research about it. My OB won't say yeah or no to it, but did say I could continue if I wanted to. I continue to take it now for myself.

I took Nordic Naturals fish oils when I was pregnant and my doctor credits my son's lack of developemental delays (very traumatic birth, my son nearly died from lack of oxygen) to my fish oil intake. Our doctor was certain that he would have significant delays and was AMAZED that he developed ahead of the "normal" curve.

Nordic Naturals and Carlson's fish oils are the ONLY fish oils that I would recommend due to quality. Keep in mind that an FDA approval rating doesn't mean that it's the ONLY thing safe. The FDA approves some pretty harmful things!

I would ask your doctor about your folic acid intake. 1200 mcg. from supplements seems a little too high. Too much folic acid can cause harm, just as too little can.

Congrats on your pregnancy!

I know that my ob/gyn recommended the fish oil supplement for most of my pregnancy and insisted on it for the last trimester. As long as you are not allergic to any of the ingredients, I would suggest at least trying it since it won't do any harm and might help with brain development!

I began taking fish oil during my 3 week of pregnancy and asked my doctor about it on my 6th week appointment. She said it does help but the best thing to buy is the pills with the DHR. But those are very costly. 15.00 for 15 pills. So fish oil is the next alternative. I take 3000mg a day which is 3 pills a day. Good luck and congrats.

Hi H.,

Yes, it is brain food and works on neurological development as well as vision. Make sure you are purchasing a pharmaceutical grade product, even your prenatal. Generics you get a Target or Walmart, even GNC, are not only bad but can be dangerous. I can recommend one if you like.

God bless AND congratulations!

M.
www.squidoo.com/ifyourbabycouldtalk

What you want to get is one of the OTC prenatal vitamins that has both the regular vitamins and DHA. DHA is what supposedly helps with eye and brain development and can be derived from fish oil or a plant source. As far as I know the FDA hasn't set a standard on how much DHA you should take but I've seen 100-200mg in most prenatal vitamins. I take one I bought at Walgreens. It is a combination of a tablet with all the vitamins & minerals (975 mcg of folic acid!) in it and a gelatin capsule with DHA. The DHA in it is derived from a plant source so I don't get that fishy aftertaste. There are a couple of OTC prenatal vitamins that have both the vitamins and DHA all together in one gelatin capsule. Hope this helps.

I'm 14 weeks pregnant and just saw my doctor this week. She told me to take the omega-3 fish oil - she said they are actually putting it in prenatal vitamins now. So I would check your prenatal and see if there's any in it already. =)

Yes, I took Expecta which is a DHA purified fish oil supplement for pregnant women. Its expensive so I took it every other day. I also alternated the prescription vitamin with the drugstore brand. I don't think you really need to take an additional folic acid if you are already taking the prenatal. Plus, you have been taking the prenatal now for 3 months. I would just take the Expecta and the regular prenatal until you see your doctor.

Really important to note that only 1 fish oil supplement is FDA approved - Lovaza, and it's pregnancy category C which means your physician would have to outweigh the benefits vs. risks.

And, that also why you should ask your OB before starting a regimen of fish oil. Omega-3 fatty acids are the main benefit to a fish oil supplement, not DHA.

I searched the website for the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and couldn't find any policies regarding the use of fish oil during pregnancy: http://google.acog.org/search?q=fish+oil+pregnancy&bt...

However, there is some good information on the site for Mayo Clinic:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/pregnancy-and-fish/PR00158

I'd not start anything until you've asked your OB and had a conversation with a pharmacist, too, about good brands of fish oil to take (not all are created equally, and only 1 is FDA approved).