Pregnant women must take the right dosage of vitamins and nutrients that their bodies may lack as they now share everything with the fetus. If you are considering getting pregnant and taking a prenatal vitamin, you should check if it contains DHA. In that case, you may be asking yourself, what is DHA in prenatal vitamins?
For a healthy baby and also a healthy mother, it is incredibly important to take all the right prenatal vitamins and nutrients. For example, DHA is an omega-3 fatty acid necessary for pregnant women’s overall health. In the following text, I will discuss in detail what DHA means for a healthy pregnancy.
What Is DHA in Prenatal Vitamins?
DHA is an omega-3 fatty acid that is a vital fat-building block for fetal development and growth. With DHA in prenatal vitamins, the risk of preterm birth can be greatly reduced. DHA may also improve depressive moods in the perinatal period.
DHA in Prenatal Vitamins
Vitamins, nutrients, and minerals are crucial for your body if you’re having a baby. It would be best if you made an effort to eat a healthy, balanced diet and take prenatal vitamins before and throughout pregnancy.
DHA is one nutrient that is frequently forgotten during pregnancy. It is an omega-3 essential for the development of both you and your unborn child. DHA may help in the development of the nervous system, eyes, and brain in fetuses. Its inability to be produced by your body makes it an essential nutrient.
Consuming enough DHA
DHA must be ingested orally in the form of meals and supplements. If you do not get enough DHA from your diet, you will need to take it as a prenatal vitamin. Each trimester requires DHA, but the third trimester is especially critical since the baby’s brain grows rapidly. While the brain and spinal cord develop, the first trimester is also a time you must consider taking DHA.
Why is DHA important?
DHA is crucial for fetal brain development and benefits your child for the rest of their life. The cerebrum, which is in charge of thinking, memory, and feeling, develops with the aid of DHA. It may help the cerebellum, which is in charge of all motor control, develop. Additionally, it may aid in the growth of the brain stem, which controls your heart, lungs, and blood pressure.
The most prevalent omega-3 in the brain is DHA. Including DHA in the diet during pregnancy has long-lasting advantages for the mother and the unborn child. DHA is essential for the development of your unborn child and the health of your brain, skin, and eyes.
How Much DHA Should Pregnant Women Consume?
Always read the label to ensure that it contains healthy components for you, your body, and your developing child.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends at least 200 milligrams daily for pregnant women or nursing. All 200 milligrams do not necessarily need to be present in a prenatal vitamin. But one of the nutrients in your prenatal should be DHA.
Alternatively, reduced DHA consumption during pregnancy has no known long-term negative effects. Although there is little research on pregnant women, it has been claimed that low DHA levels during pregnancy may hinder fetal growth. So, it is smart to use DHA-fortified prenatal supplements.
Read more: When Do You Have Your First Ultrasound?
Benefits of DHA
The omega-3 fatty acid DHA will provide pregnant women with many health benefits from the beginning of their pregnancy for the mother and the baby. Some of the most important health benefits of DHA are:
Brain development
DHA prenatal vitamins may help support the development of the baby’s brain in the mother’s womb. The DHA works by supporting neural cell growth, function, and signaling. Despite brain development continuing in the first two years of a child’s life, the most vital development happens during the first weeks of pregnancy.
Some researchers claim that babies with DHA-rich frontal lobes are more likely to showcase high-level cognitive skills like problem-solving and planning.
Visual development
Besides DHA helping develop a baby’s cognitive function, it might also help with visual development. According to a 2003 study, DHA supplements play a big part in children’s visual acuity development. Visual acuity is the human ability to differentiate shapes and details from a certain distance.
Heart health
According to the American Heart Association, DHA has significant cardioprotective benefits. DHA might help support your heart by maintaining healthy blood pressure levels, which is incredibly important for pregnant women.
Taking the recommended dose of DHA daily ensures your and your baby’s developing heart is protected.
Choosing a DHA Supplement
Choosing a high-quality prenatal DHA is crucial because uncertified, low-quality goods may include chemicals and pollutants. Most cutting-edge refining processes eliminate practically all of these dangerous substances.
As a result, it is crucial to choose items whose packaging shows that a trustworthy third-party organization or lab has confirmed the product’s quality and purity in terms of particles per trillion.
Many reliable organizations establish criteria for judging the excellence and purity of fish oil products. Be aware of items claimed to have dangerous heavy metals, toxins, and oxidation levels higher than the normal maximum limits specified by one or more of these organizations.
Do You Need DHA Supplements?
According to obstetricians, women looking to get pregnant should start taking prenatal vitamins with DHA at least three months before. Taking them three months before getting pregnant ensures you get the benefits as soon as you fall pregnant.
It is especially important to take DHA supplements if you are not getting enough from your food. The best action is to talk to your doctor and get their advice on what you should do.
Your doctor will likely have a good recommendation of DHA supplements that are best suited for your health.
Also read: How to Sleep With a Pregnancy Pillow
Conclusion
In conclusion, if you are trying to get pregnant and wonder what is DHA in prenatal vitamins, you should know that it is an omega-3 fatty acid that supports the development of your baby and also keeps you in good health.
However, consult your doctor and obstetrician; they will point you toward the best prenatal vitamins with DHA. DHA should help in the development of all cognitive functions of a child.
