Omega-3s Have Limited Effect on Pregnancy, Birth Weight

WARSAW, Poland--Supplementation with long-chain omega-3 (n-3) fatty acids appears to extend pregnancy term and babies' head circumference, but had no effect on rate of preterm deliveries, low birth weight or pre-eclampsia, according to a review published in the June issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (83, 6:1337-1344, 2006).

Researchers from the Medical University of Warsaw and Dr. von Hauner Children's Hospital, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, Germany, reviewed articles from MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Library through August 2005, searching for randomized clinical trials (RCTs) comparing omega-3 supplementation with placebo relative to pregnancy outcomes and growth measures at birth. Of six RCTs included in the review, only one was judged to have a low risk of bias. Among the six studies, n-3 supplementation was associated with a significantly greater length of pregnancy term; however, there was no evidence n-3s impacted the percentage of preterm deliveries, the rate of low-birth-weight infants, or the rate of either pre-eclampsia or eclampsia. Also, they found no significant difference in birth weight or length, although there was a trend for increased head circumference in the supplement groups of four trials.

The scientists concluded supplementation with long chain n-3 fatty acids during pregnancy may enhance pregnancy duration and head circumference, but the mean effect size is small. They further suggested the implications of these findings for later growth and development remain to be elucidated.

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