How to supplement DHA for pregnant women

Many people are familiar with DHA. Most people know that DHA is an important element for fetal brain development. DHA determines the development and maturity of the baby's brain. Most pregnant women only know the benefits of DHA, but often don't know how to supplement it. Pregnant mothers are worried that they can't control the dosage, which will affect the baby's health. So how do pregnant women usually supplement DHA?

How much DHA should pregnant women take?

From 3 months of pregnancy to 6 months after delivery: brain cell development enters the first peak period, and the rate and degree of brain development can reach 60%~70% of the adult brain; from 6 months to 3 years old of the newborn: the brain enters the second development peak, and the rate and degree of brain development can reach the adult level. The earlier the brain develops, the faster it develops, and the earlier the more critical it is. Unfortunately, as the fetus's intake of DHA from the mother continues to increase during pregnancy, the mother's DHA level continues to decrease, and by the end of pregnancy it is only 62% of the original level. If you breastfeed after giving birth, the rate drops to 38% after 6 weeks.

So expectant mothers need to get no less than 400 mg of DHA every day. In fact, our daily food also contains DHA. For example, nuts such as walnut kernels that are rich in linolenic acid can synthesize DHA after being processed by the liver. The fat of marine fish and seashells is rich in DHA. When supplementing DHA, pregnant women should determine how much additional DHA they should supplement based on their own diet.

Although DHA is good, excessive intake can be harmful to the body. DHA is a nutrient that plays an important role in the growth and development of infants and young children and in maintaining normal human health. Like other nutrients, it requires a reasonable intake, which means that nutritional balance must be achieved. Excessive intake of DHA can cause a series of side effects such as weakened immunity. In addition, because DHA has the effects of inhibiting platelet aggregation and anti-thrombosis, people with bleeding diseases, cirrhosis, and coagulation dysfunction should appropriately control their DHA intake to avoid causing or aggravating bleeding. Therefore, expectant mothers should take DHA in appropriate amounts according to their own conditions.

When should pregnant women take DHA?

In addition to the DHA dosage, the timing of consuming DHA is also very important for mothers. Mothers must understand this lesson well - when should pregnant women take DHA.

Generally speaking, fish oil DHA products are most effective when taken during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy (after 20 weeks of pregnancy) to within 6 months after the fetus is born. Because this stage is the period when neurons in the fetal brain center divide and mature the fastest, and it is also the period when the demand for DHA is the greatest. Especially after the fetus is 5 months old, the application of prenatal education content artificially increases the stimulation of the three sensory nerve pathways of the fetus, namely hearing, vision and touch, which will cause the neurons (pyramidal cells) in the relevant sensory center area of ​​the fetal cerebral cortex to grow more dendrites or dendritic spines. This requires the mother to supply the fetus with more DHA in order to meet the demand for increased DHA in the membrane phospholipid composition of the fetal cell membrane due to the development of neurons in the fetal brain and retina. In order to lay a good foundation for the baby's vision, pregnant women are recommended to supplement DHA appropriately from the 4th month of pregnancy.

After the child is born, the mother can continue to take DHA and feed it to the fetus through breast milk.

How to supplement DHA for pregnant women

1. Fish oil DHA products

Generally speaking, fish oil DHA products are most effective when taken during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy (after 20 weeks of pregnancy) to within 6 months after the fetus is born. Because this stage is the period when neurons in the fetal brain center divide and mature the fastest, and it is also the period when the demand for DHA is the greatest. Especially after the fetus is 5 months old, the application of prenatal education content artificially increases the stimulation of the three sensory nerve pathways of the fetus, namely hearing, vision and touch, which will cause the neurons (pyramidal cells) in the relevant sensory center area of ​​the fetal cerebral cortex to grow more dendrites or dendritic spines. This requires the mother to supply the fetus with more DHA in order to meet the demand for increased DHA in the membrane phospholipid composition of the fetal cell membrane due to the development of neurons in the fetal brain and retina. In order to lay a good foundation for the baby's vision, pregnant women are recommended to supplement DHA appropriately from the 4th month of pregnancy. After the child is born, the mother can continue to take DHA and feed it to the fetus through breast milk.

2. a-linolenic acid nutritional supplements

The best time to supplement a-linolenic acid supplements is from the late pregnancy (after 28 weeks of pregnancy) to within 6 months after the fetus is born, because at this stage, pregnant women can use the a-linolenic acid in the mother's blood to synthesize DHA, which is then delivered to the fetus through the blood or breast milk. When the child is over 6 months old, the oil can be squeezed into formula milk, shaken well, and fed directly to the baby.

Since the fetus can use the α-linolenic acid in the mother's blood to produce its own DHA during the last three months of the mother's pregnancy, the mother should eat more walnuts and other nuts rich in α-linolenic acid during pregnancy, especially in the last three months. If you have the conditions, it would be more reliable to supplement DHA directly from fish oil DHA supplements.