Worried about cod liver oil i've been taking- can anyone help?

[onlinefriend]

I'm panicking a bit.
I'm 7 weeks pregnant today.
For the last 6 months i have been taking a high strength omega 3 supplement as my hair was falling out and it was suggested to help.
(much stronger than the usual ones- Says 1300mg Fish oil with EPA 351mg and DHA 234mg).
I've just read high dose fish oil bad for pregnant women!
Don't have a midwife yet to ask,
Does anyone know anything about this please?

[user59457812]

It's the vitamin A in cod liver oil that pregnant women are supposed to avoid. As far as I understand, other omega fish oil (as long as they are not from the fishes' livers) is fine. I have been taking the equivalent of 2000mg of fish oil since day one, which sounds like more than you. I'm now 17 weeks and all seems fine with baby so far. Does yours definitely contain cod liver oil?

I was told that omega fish oils are a good idea in pregnancy - esp. for brain development in the third trimester - and should have no negative affects as long as (1) they are not high in vitamin A (i.e. not from liver) and (2) they are as pure as possible, not containing high levels of heavy metals (fish are subject to pollution from mercury etc.). I have one which is from deep sea fish and supposed to be very pure.

I'd go and speak to a pharmacy in the first instance - the pharmacist should know what is safe and what isn't.

At seven weeks I really wouldn't worry - just stop for now until you've reassured yourself.

HTH

[user59457812]

To be clear, other oils are from the body of the fish. If yours says "1300mg fish oil" it's most probably from the body, not from the liver.

[onlinefriend]

thanks for the reply HotPinkGingham. Under ingredients it says 'Fish Oil, Capsule Shell (Beef Gelatin, Glycerol), Antioxidant (Tocopherol), Triglycerides, Sunflower Lecithin. So no mention of liver specifically.
(Will take the packet to boots and ask them just to be sure, for some reason it didn't occur to me to do this, too busy panicking.)

[user59457812]

If it just says 'fish oil' it's almost certainly from the body, so should be absolutely fine, but do double check so you feel happy.

[phlossie]

You just sent me checking my fish oils... Yes, mine's 1000mg fish oil. If it had Vitamin A in it, it would say so on the bottle. I'm 22 weeks and have been taking it throughout my pregnancy. You can even get Pregnacare Plus which is the pregnancy multi-vit that comes with a fish oils supplement for Omega-3. As HotPinkGingham says - it's not from any of the fish thought to have high mercury levels.