Hello everyone…this is my second post and I love the information that I get from this site.Thank you all.
I am on my 19th week now and had monthly antenatal check ups with my gynae since the 2nd month since I didn’t know I was preggy till that time. But then, he only gave me folic acid for that month and afterwards only Iron supplements had been handed for me to take. I am afraid this is not enough since I read from the internet that some pregnant women take folic acid full term plus they take omega3 supplements/fish oil. Is it safe to take fish oil supplements until my due date?
Folic acid is really essential when we’re pregnant. It helps our baby against spinabifida (I think). The bottom line is, it is a must. I took my folic acid in the entire pregnancy and even after it. My O.B recommends it plus take the iron supplements since I am breastfeeding. According to him, all the nutrients I have is absorbed by my baby. In effect, when we breastfeed, we do feel week. For the fish oil, I suggest you stop it first, or better yet ask your doctor regarding this. I’ve wanted to take those omega3 supplements before but doctor didn’t recommend it. Instead he refer a dietician and gave me a whole list of foods to take and keep a balance on all nutrients.
Better to take veggies, meat, fruits first rather than resorting to food supplements except those prescribed by doctors. And even if those prescribed, my husband read the labels first if it’s recommended for preggies. If it says no test has been done… immediately to the trash bin.
Yes, take folic acid and take fish oil. Fish oil has omega 3s which are great for brain and eye development. Just make sure it is from low mercury fish. The bottle will say if it is. The reason why a doctor may have said not to take it is because it is considered homeopathic, and most doctors don’t recommend natural products. A lot of doctors will tell you it is safe to take them if you find the right doctor. Omega 3s are great for so many things in the body. I took them my whole pregnancy, while breastfeeding, and even now. Many people on this forum have taken them too. There are even prenatal vitamins with omega 3s now, but they are at low levels.
* A better brain with higher intelligence
* Good nervous system development
* Better eyesight from retina formation
* Fewer behavioral problems after birth
* Better sleep patterns for a new born
Health benefits for mom include:
* Less chance of developing pre-eclampsia
* Protection against brain loss during pregnancy
* Less chance of pre-term labor and cesarean
* Much lower risk of postpartum depression
* Greatly reduced incidence of breast cancer
DHA and EPA make up about 70% of a newborn baby’s brain, retina and nervous system. The only way a fetus can get these important omega 3 fatty acids is from mom. And the amount is dependent on how much she’s getting in her pregnancy diet.[/i]
It is also very important to get enough calcium. If you are not taking a supplement your baby will take it from your bones and you could end up with weaker bones, teeth, etc. I take a prenatal vitamin that has the folic acid, omega 3, DHA, and everything else pregnant women need. It is much simpler for me that taking half a dozen different supplements. Also make sure that you are eating a well balanced diet with plenty of protein, and drink plenty of water.
Yes!! You must take at least 800 mg of folic acid and omega 3 fish oil every day (if you don’t take the fish oil every day then eat eggs and salmon to get your omega 3s. I don’t know what doctor at this point that is telling patients not to take fish oil. Most say you should take it. The only hesitation a doctor may have is if he’s not sure of the mercury content and therefore they just say not take it but you can buy fish oil with no mercury. Nortic Naturals or Carlsons is mercury free. Or you can take krill oil which is even more effective with no trace of mercury whatsoever. You can read about krill oil at www.mercola.com . Dr. Mercola is great.
wow…thank you all for your replies! Now I am more confident to take folic acid and fish oil. BTW, can anyone recommend a good antenatal omega3 brand and from which site?
I took Rainbow Light prenatals which are awesome. They are all organic and completely dissolvable (many prenatals aren’t) and they scored 1st or 2nd by Consumer Reports for effectiveness. A lot of women also take them because they don’t make you nauseous like a lot of others. Go to their website and check out their products. They may make an omega-3 prenatal or some sort of omega 3 product.
I used to get a brand that was odor-free and had no mercury. I don’t remember what it was, but I got it at the grocery store. Fish oil can give you nasty burps, but I heard that if you keep them in the freezer they won’t give you the burps.
nhockaday, I hope you can remember the brand so I can also check it in the local drugstore.
thanks for the tips…
I have another problem tho, and it scares me to hell…you see, I have my teeth braces still(I know I’m too old for this :nowink: ) but I guess my dentist didn’t do a good job locking the wires last month during the adjustment so it went loose, about an inch long. I had a hard time eating since last night because of the loose wire, I tried to cut it off this morning but to no avail. So I decided I will call my dentist for his earliest schedule to have the wire cut and readjust my teeth braces. Problem happened after lunch today, I didn’t feel the loose wire anymore, I think it was cut, yet I didn’t notice it. Now I am afraid that I could have swallowed it unintentionally and scared that it may affect my baby or worse my baby can digest that wire and lead to complications for my pregnancy. I don’t know what to do, I am just praying that I spat it out and not swallowed it. Any advice? :ohmy:
I get my omega 3’s from flaxseed, since I’m worried about fish oil and mercury. Another supplement thats worth looking into is choline (found in soy lecithin and egg yolks). Studies on rats (unfortunately thats all they have studied it on) have found that taking it during the rat’s 3rd trimester had a significant impact on their cognitive skills. I bought lecithin in granule form and sprinkle it on my food (its tasteless). I’m nursing, and hopefully enough is getting to my little guy that way. Some prenatals have choline, but the levels seem low from what I have seen (and I couldn’t find any information on too much choline having a negative effect). iodine is another important developmental supplement that should be in prenatals… most I have seen do have it added (although definately not a good idea to overdo it because of the problems that would cause!)
one more benefit of fish oil (or vitamine D): it ensures good dental health of toddler.
typical mistake is to buy fish oil with artifitial supplements like vitamine A. do not do it because vitamine A is also in various multivitamines and you can get it too much. natural fish oil is without A.
It is important to nutritionally balanced meals (which prevent diabetes), along with Omega 3’s and vitamins. This is easily achieved by eating in “The Zone”:
And not all Omega 3’s are created equal! Dr. Sears brand is ultra-refined and independently rated by IFOS for 5 out of 5 stars, with the highest purity rates:
Thanks for your reply…have you taken Dr.Sears Omega Rx during your pregnancy? I checked the site…but I’m still in doubt if it is safe for pregnant women.
Certainly. Because Dr. Sears is a medical researcher with very high standards, I have personally taken it prior to and during my pregnancy with twins, and after. My children take it as well everyday. It is the ONLY fish oil I will give my family, because of the purity rates - they test EACH and EVERY batch - no other company in the world does this! - NONE.
I took Omega 3, Folic Acid Tablets, Pre Natal Vitamins throughout my pregnancy
Folic acid is important as it reduces the risk of spinal and brain defects in your developing foetus. It can be found naturally in green leafy vegetables. It is also crucial to aid the normal formation of these vital organs.
As for Omega 3, i took USANA’s BiOmega™
It is produced from cold-water, deep-sea fish oil and contains a balanced, highly concentrated daily dose of two important omega-3 fatty acids: eicosapentanoic acid (EPA) and docosahexanoic acid (DHA) in two convenient capsules per day.
USANA’s BiOmega is virtually free of contaminants, which are eliminated through a double-molecular distillation process that ensures the highest possible purity. Through this process, heavy metals, PCBs, pesticides, and organic residues are effectively eliminated. Also free of trans-fatty acids, each capsule contains 2 mg of mixed natural tocopherols to minimize oxidation of the omega-3 fatty acids and maintain product quality during storage. In short, BiOmega is one of the purest, highest quality products available on the market today.
folic acid and iron is useful to produce extra blood to your body and your baby’s body.
you can find at:
dark green leaves
whole grain bread
citric fruts.
you can also take the prenatal.
my doctor said not to eat liver (is rich in all minerals and vitamins, but has to much vitamin A, that can cause severe malformation in the baby)
he also said to avoid salmon and tuna because that contains lead.
I just would like to add that it’s good to take folic acid even when ‘trying’ to get pregnant, because this acid is very important in the first weeks of pregnancy (it’s supposed to help prevent birth defects), but most of mommies usually don’t find out until a few weeks/months pregnant. Just check the dosage, it differs when pregnant and when not.
Here is one of the links: http://kidshealth.org/parent/pregnancy_newborn/pregnancy/folic_acid.html
Folic acid is needed 1-2 mth prior to pregnancy, and upto the end of the first trimester, it is when the spinal column and internal organs of the fetuses are growing, thereafter folic acid is less important. However, if you take folic acid for too long a time, i am not sure if its into your 3rd trimester or was it into your endo … it would develop into cancer.
There was a report i filed it up some yrs ago, some where in my thousands and thousand of file on pregnancy, health cancer and etc …
O3 take it from flaxseed, if your worried about mercury or you could always try fresh salmon … bu only after the the first 4-5 mnths
