Taking Fish Oil While Pregnant Could Lower A Baby's Risk Of Asthma

A nutrient-rich diet and supplements can enhance the health of not just an expecting mother but also her unborn child.

A study in Denmark found that taking fish oil supplements during pregnancy possibly decreased the risk of wheezing disorders in children.

The study observed 736 pregnant women in their third trimester, with one group taking 2.4 grams of fish oil (15 to 20 times more than what most Americans consume) and another group taking a placebo. Researchers conducted follow-ups three years after the babies were born and then again two years after.

Results showed that of the children whose mothers took the fish oil supplements, 16.9 percent had asthma by age 3. By comparison, 23.7 percent of children whose mothers did not take fish oil developed asthma during the same time period.

Before making any definitive links between fish oil and asthma reduction in children, the study should be replicated with mothers taking fish oil earlier on in their pregnancies, Dr. Hans Bisgaard, the lead author of the study, told The New York Times in an email.