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Almost every expectant mother knows that a good diet is very important for her to have a healthy and safe pregnancy. After all, only through her can the baby get all the nutrients, vitamins and calories needed for proper growth and development. While one usually hears of how important it is for a pregnant woman’s diet to have enough protein, calcium, folic acid and various vitamins like Vitamin A, C, D, B12, not many seem to know about Omega 3. In fact, Omega 3 rich foods are an important part of a well balanced diet.

A type of polyunsaturated fatty acids, Omega 3 is found in different kinds of foods like seeds, plants and fish. Though they are called ‘fatty acids’, these are actually beneficial to your physical and mental health. These are also called essential fatty acids because the body cannot generate them and have to be supplied through the intake of other foods. There are three important types of Omega 3’s; EPA and DHA are found mainly in fish or fish oil while the more commonly known Alpha-Linolenic Acid or ALA is found in vegetables oils, green leafy vegetables and in seeds.

Only recently has it been acknowledged, with the help of various studies that Omega 3 is an important part of a healthy, nutritious diet, especially during pregnancy. In fact, it is now known that it plays a very large role not just in safeguarding the health of the mother but also in ensuring the proper development of the growing unborn baby.  Specifically, Omega 3 helps to develop the nervous system, strengthens the eyes and helps build the brain. Omega 3 brings with it many benefits for the mother too – it helps in reducing one’s risk of pre-term labor, reduces the chances of developing preeclampsia and also helps to reduce the risk of developing postpartum depression.

In fact, including Omega 3 foods in your diet is so important that an Omega 3 deficiency could actually have serious effects on your and your baby’s health. Your growing baby needs essential nutrients and vitamins to keep developing properly and she gets them all from you. So any Omega 3 that your unborn child receives is from you; if you do not take adequate amounts of Omega 3 chances are that your baby will start cutting into your store of Omega 3 causing you to suffer from the side-effects of Omega 3 deficiency. There could be an increase in the risk of you having pre-term labor or having to give birth through a cesarean section, an increase in the chances of your baby having low birth weight or an increased chance of developing postpartum depression.

Studies are also being carried out to study what kind of long-term effects Omega 3 can have on the development of babies and children. Initial results seem to indicate that children who received adequate amounts of Omega 3 while in the womb had better attention spans than those children who did not get enough Omega 3.

It is therefore very important that you get sufficient amounts of Omega 3 during your pregnancy especially during the last trimester when the baby’s brain and nervous system are developing.

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