Consuming omega-3s from fish oil during pregnancy could cut down the risk of childhood asthma by almost a third. The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine last month, found that women who were prescribed 2.4 grams of the omega-3 supplements during the third trimester of their pregnancy reduced their child’s risk of asthma by 31%. The supplement also reduced the risk of lower respiratory tract infections in children.
The research found that women with low levels of omega-3s at the beginning of the study benefited the most from the supplements. The press release the relative risk of developing asthma in children of these women was reduced by 54%. Blood samples of 695 Danish women were tested at around six months of pregnancy and then a week after delivery. The researchers monitored the health of each of the participants’ children for five years, which is the age asthma symptoms can be clinically established.