By: Margit Weichselbraun
22. April 2020
Long before a baby sees the light of day, it gets a lot from its mother: if the mother is happy and relaxed, the baby kicks with joy. If, however, she is sad or stressed, the little one becomes restless. Not only the mother’s well-being but also her nutrient intake influence her little one at an early stage. The influence of omega-3 fatty acids on the eyes and brain of the foetus in the womb was once again the subject of research.
For their study, the multi-member Finnish research team extracted the data from a previous large-scale study involving 56 pregnant women and their offspring. The expectant mothers regularly documented their diets. In addition, weight fluctuations before and during pregnancy were recorded as well as blood pressure and blood sugar levels. The researchers also recorded the mothers’ dietary intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), their serum PUFA levels, and the serum PUFA levels of their babies starting at one month.
After two years, a special, non-invasive test (pattern-reversal visual evoked potentials) was carried out on the offspring of the study participants to map the visual functions and maturation of the central nervous system. The children whose mothers ate three or more portions of fish a week in the last trimester of pregnancy scored better on this test than those whose mothers did not eat fish or ate only up to two portions of fish a week.
