Eating fish in pregnancy helps prevent premature birth
1 March 2002
You may be able to reduce the risks of giving birth prematurely by eating fish during pregnancy.
A study published in the 23 February 2002 issue of the British Medical Journal asked more than 8,000 pregnant women in Denmark how often they had eaten fish during their pregnancy. Only 1.9 per cent of women who ate fish at least once a week had a premature birth. This compares with 7.1 per cent of women who reported that they never ate fish.
Overall, the rates of premature birth and low birth weight tended to decrease with increasing fish consumption. Rates of average birth weight and length of pregnancy tended to increase with increasing fish consumption. These benefits were shown up to a daily intake of 15 g fish, or 0.15 g of omega-3 fatty acids.
These findings agree with some previous trials showing that consumption of fish oil in pregnancy can increase birth weight by prolonging the length of pregnancy, and can help prevent recurrence of preterm delivery. The authors suggested that women who usually ate little or no fish could help protect themselves against premature delivery by taking small amounts of omega-3 fatty acids provided as fish or fish oil.
Last Reviewed: 04 March 2002
- British Medical Journal 2002; 324: 447
