Your DHA Source May Play a Role in Its Benefits for Your Baby
March 15, 2017
Scientists are beginning to understand that relationship DHA and its benefits to infants. In fact, evidence is mounting that supplemental prenatal vitamins with DHA can yield many positive outcomes for mothers who breastfeed and their babies.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommends that women consume DHA daily during every stage of pregnancy. For women who are trying to conceive, a daily intake of 220 mg of DHA is recommended.1 That number jumps to 300 mg of DHA during every month of pregnancy and for six to 12 months postpartum.1
Despite this recommendation, researchers estimate that U.S. women take only 20 percent to 60 percent of the recommended dosage of omega-3s.2 In addition, expecting mothers face challenges when trying to maintain their DHA intake, as nearly half of omega-3 stores are lost during pregnancy. For most women, it can take up to six months to recover these lost reserves after their babies are born.2
The Need for DHA
DHA plays a major role in cognitive function and brain development for infants as well as adults. The majority of the DHA present in the brain is incorporated during a major growth spurt that occurs at week 26 gestation and continues until a child is two years old.3 In utero it must be supplied by the mom and from breastfeeding postpartum. Higher material DHA intake promotes enhanced cognitive development in infants and children.2,4 Studies also have found that DHA improves visual development and motor skills.4-6
The Case for Marine-Based DHA
DHA can be supplemented through several sources. Those include marine-based DHA, which is derived from fish oil; plant-based DHA, which is derived from algae; and egg-based DHA, which is derived from egg yolks. Evidence on the effectiveness of DHA comes from clinical trials conducted primarily with marine-based DHA, and results for other sources of DHA do not yet exist in large volume. For this reason, refined and deodorized fish oil is preferred for DHA supplementation. In addition, it is readily available and has relatively high DHA content compared to other sources.3
Prenatal Vitamins with DHA
The Prenate® Vitamin Family has several prenatal vitamins that contain the highest levels of clinically proven DHA omega-3s. All of these Prenate® prenatal vitamins that contain DHA use marine-based DHA. These vitamins listed here help mothers meet the daily recommended intake of DHA and yield positive outcomes for babies:
- Prenate Pixie® – Contains 200 mg of marine-based DHA
- Prenate Mini® – Contains 350 mg of marine-based DHA
- Prenate® Enhance – Contains 400 mg of marine-based DHA
- Prenate® Restore – Contains 400 mg of marine-based DHA
Prenate® is committed to providing nutritional support for mothers and babies. With products designed with the patient in mind, Prenate® prescription prenatal vitamins support the stages and special needs of pregnancy. Expecting mothers can save on their prescription prenatal vitamins with our savings cards. Click here to get your prenatal vitamin coupon now and pay only $18 per prescription refill! Talk to your doctor to see if Prenate® vitamins may be right for you to help fill nutritional gaps.