“Women who take fish oil supplements in the second trimester give birth to children with high brainpower and great coordination skills”, says an Australian study.

This study was conducted on 98 pregnant women who stay away from smoking and also eat fish for a minimum of twice per week. One group of women were given 4g of fish oil supplements and the other group 4g of olive oil supplements from 20 weeks of pregnancy.

When their children were 2.5 years old, they were administered growth and development tests. The children of those who had taken fish oil supplements had higher hand-eye coordination, phrase length, comprehension skills and vocabulary than the children of those who had taken olive oil supplements.

Even after considering the other factors like breastfeeding and mother’s age, the children of mothers who had taken fish oil had better brainpower.

This research study claims that supplementation with high-dose fish oil during the last 20 weeks of pregnancy is safe and also gives potential beneficial effects.

Omega-3 fatty acids present in fish oil supplements help in improving the brainpower by strengthening of the child’s central nervous system. Omega-3s also benefit the mother during and after pregnancy by lowering high blood pressure and relieving postpartum depression.

Also read: Foods to Avoid During Pregnancy, Nutritional Diet to Take During Pregnancy