DHA Supplements

J.,

Omeg-3 fatty acid is what is really important for a new born and so is folic acid. They are both known to stop birth defects. You should be on a prenatal and also an Omeg-3 supplement. You can get them both from me at www.Herbalmom.com if you are not on them already. The omeg-3 product is called Herbalifeline. These nutrients will help the brain and spinal cord develop properly.

Hope this helps

L. C
Personal Nutritionist
www.herbalmom.com

I absolutely think that fish oil supplements are important. Not only is it GREAT for you baby, but it's good for you as well. You're much less likely to get pre-gestational diabetes, preecclampsia etc if you eat a healthy diet and get the proper amount of DHA. I recommend KRILL OIL. It's super stable, 98% absorbable and easy to take. Fish oil in pill form spoils and it's fully absorbable by the body. If you want to take fish oil over krill oil you should take a high quality liquid. You can purchase krill oil or liquid fish oil at The Vitamin Shoppe or at Mercola.com. There are really 1000's of reasons to take fish oil for the rest of your life, not only while you're pregnant. :)

I took Duet DHA pre natal vitamins when I was pregnant with my daughter & I dont know for sure if that did anything, but she is VERY smart and has reached all developmental milestones at least 3 months early. It's worth trying.

Hi J.,

I agree, that everybody is an expert and will always offer advice (wanted, requested, or unsolicited). So, no matter what advice is given to you, listen carefully, then examine what you have heard, how it could effect your family (good or bad) and make decisions from the heart.

My field of expertiece is in breastfeeding. I am a board certified lactation consultant. I am not a breastfeeding nazi. However, my answer may make me seem like an extremest.

Lipil formula has been around for about 5-6 years. REasearch has proven that dha in breastmilk has aided in the higher iq status. Dha and Rha in formula is supposed to also increase the iq's of our infants.
However, because this is manufactured in the lab and not the actual properties and extensive studies have not been done yet. The only way to know if it going to work is 10-15 years from now, when they track the iq's of the first test subjects. Breastmilk contains a natural DHA/ARA. THIS HAS BEEN STUDIED EXTENSIVELY. However, I do understand why some women choose to formula feed. But the true answer to the questions is........ask again in about 5-10 years and maybe then you will really know.

H. B.

I took the plant source DHA when pregnant with my daughter, (It had no fish taste or burps, yuck!) from the second trimester on and my daughter still takes them she is three. I have no idea if it helped her, but she is a smart little girl. She crawled at four months and talked before and much more than her peers at daycare, is that because of DHA? I couldn't tell you. Would I take it again during pregnancy? You bet! (I was 22 when she was born, just for reference.)

Isn't everyone the expert these days...LOL. I think your baby will be brilliant on his/her own as long as you eat right and take care of yourself.

You've already had one child so you know this is only the beginning of unsolicited advice from strangers.

First off congrats on your new marriage and upcoming bundle of love.

Weigh all your options before deciding and read the labels of the supplements...this helped in my decision making :)

I have a 6 month old and I took the Lipil supplement from Enfamil daily along with prenatal vitamins. I do not know if it has made my daughter smarter but i have hope that it has made her heathier than she might have been had i not taken it. I chose to take this supplement because I do not eat fish at all and therefore I miss out on the omega fatty acids that are "needed" for brain development. My baby seems to be very bright and loves to explore her world. She is a formula baby... Some mothers do not have the time to breastfeed and some babies don't take to it. my little girl decided that my breast milk was not what she wanted at 2 months so we moved onto formula. As for why some people choose not to breast feed, sometimes it is out of their hands.

I have also been told that and do truely believe it. I was taking fish oil, 4 pills a day while pregnant~ Its an amazing thing~

My naturopahic doctor told me to take DHA with my 1st baby- which I did- and she is definitely a smart cookie! She's now 17 months old and has been early with everything from crawling to walking and her vocabulary and understanding of language seems pretty advanced compared to other kids her age. (Nothing major- but she's definitely on the upper end of the spectrum) I am now prego with my 2nd (19 wks) and plan to start taking the DHA again next week. According to my doctor, the second half of pregnancy is really when the brain develops in the ways that reasearch has shown DHA can help out with. I just found a great company that has a DHA supplement especially for prenatal needs- let me know if you want more info! Hope this helps, M.