omega 3 and 6 oils anyone??

[calebsmum]

Is anyone taking supplements for omega oils?? Have seen mumomega vitamins but they are expensive and was wondering if anyone is just taking a plain omega supplement and if so what is it?? Am hoping it will help me avoid PND this time around.

There's an article in the online Times health section today about how o 3 + 6 can help with depression. I have no idea about safety or otherwise in pregnancy or if PND will react differently but you might find it interesting.

I'm not taking supplements and I'm doing it because apparently it makes the baby smarter, but I'm eating oily fish twice a week instead of supplementation - easier absorbed and cheaper too.

I was taking them for depression for over a year but I found out I was pregnant I stopped taking them because the bottle said not to be taken in pregnancy I spoke to the midwife about re starting them because I am trying to come off the prozac but she did not know if it was just one of those warnings they slap on everything or if there was a reason for it. I am going to talk to the doctor this week about them and see what he says.

whomovedmychocolate you do have to be a little careful with which ones you eat (I eat a lot too for several reasons) because of the links to mercury poisoning. I have never found I could eat enough though to effect my mood I had felt that the supplements were helping.

Whomovedmychocolate - you are not taking supplements because not taking them makes the baby smarter? Did I get that right?

I thought taking fish oils in pregnancy increased babys intelligence?

Kaz, would be interested to see what your doctor says. I take a pro-natal vitamin everyday and I do try and eat fish twice a week but was wondering if the supplements would be helpful.

LOL LynetteScavo - well clearly it's not helping my eloquence or lucidity!

I am taking normal pregnancy hormones, but also eating salmon and mackerel regularly. DH reckons Felix catfood has the same concentrations as it's added but somehow I just don't fancy it.

I think Mercury poisoning is largely through tuna and swordfish Kaz.

Incidentally to the original question, you can buy generic but make sure you are careful to source the same levels and watch in case it is packaged with anything else (ie Vitamin A)

I thought it was all fish that are from the sea but just re read the leaflet it says avoid shark, swordfish and marlin and limit tuna to either 2 tuna steaks (weight above 140g cooked 170g raw) or 4 med sized tins(drained weight 140g) a week

My problem is I have gone right off tuna and my smoked mackerel

Farmed salmon don't live in the sea and nor actually do farmed mackerel - so that's all right then. I'm a mad goan fish curry maker which is an excellent (if heartburn inducing) way to get your fish intake up.

If I were you I'd look online as well, supplements are often much cheaper when you buy them in the US and have them shipped and the dollar/pound rate is still quite favourable.

I have a very large bottle will last me at least through the rest of this pregnancy LOL

Like whomovedmychocolate says Check that the supplements you opt for are highly pure oils derived from the flesh of fish rather than from their livers, as fish liver oils may contain harmful toxins or abnormally high levels of vitamin A

My Dr (dermatologist and ob-gyn) always recommend oils derived from plants. The best brand around is probably Udo's oils 3-6-9.

Basically it's flaxseed & evening primrose, starflower oil+ a few others.

I'd buy a good brand from health shops rather than from a supermarket shelf to ensure quality and adequate concentration.

In the UK Holland & Barrett have them.

I'm taking pregnacare plus omega 3, (this is 2 tablets a day - 1 multi vit and 1 omega 3) Can assume it is safe as is is a special pregnancy one (ie free from vit A). It is expensive, I agree, but have bought in bulk on ebay to last me through and it wasn't too bad. It's remembering to take them that's the problem

In my first pregnancy I didn't take anything and had really dry hair and skin afterwards (also breastfeeding) so the next time round I did a little research and took the Zita West Vital DHA supplement during the last trimester and for a while when breastfeeding too. Quite expensive, but I had no probs with dry skin and hair that time round. This time round I've done a bit more research and have decided to stick to plant sources, partly as it's cheaper and partly because of my ethics. I think I worked out as long as I have about 15ml flax seed oil every day I would be okay. I allowed for inefficient conversion to the longer-chain omega 3 oils that are in the fish oils. But I also take a little care over the rest of my diet.

From what I've read,other fats are absorbed and digested preferentially to omega 3. And most of us on a standard 'Western' diet have far more omega 6 than we need, let alone saturated fats (which are the easiest for our body to break down and this gets done first). Anything that's not absorbed just gets excreted. So in my opinion it's not much use taking expensive supplements if you don't look at the rest of your diet too. To back up this argument, vegans have no need for fish oils as their intake of saturated fats and omega 6 is far lower than the rest of us, and they tend to eat loads of green veg - which can contain all the omega 3 fatty acids you need. (I'm not a vegan, by the way, but I do think it has a lot going for it.)

I hope this doesn't sound too much like a lecture but I have found the whole discussion of omega 3 oils and fish supplements to be quite fascinating which is why I looked into it further, even going to the extent of doing an OU course on fats in the diet. It didn't focus on pregnancy but was quite illuminating.

ps yes I have also seen the discussion of essential fats and PND and think there's definitely something in it.

slim22 that's what mine are the 3 6 9 I have checked for vit a content and they do not have any so maybe they are ok will still double check this little one is too precious it took 15 years to get pregnant again

Just re-read your posts Kaz.
I've also read lots of papers on mood stabilizing effect and I'm definitely sure they help me stabilize mood.
I started taking them 5 years ago to treat psoriasis and never really looked back since, except for a few weeks a couple of times/year. When i stop, I am definitely more 'hormonal' iykwim?

My ob-gyn treats a lot of menopausal women with natural therapies and omegas are quite central as mood stabilizers and beauty 'enhancers' (skin/hair etc..). She gives them to all pregnant and lactating women too. I trust her, all post 50 clients look positively glowing in the waiting room....

slim22 I am positive they were helping me too which is why I would like to get back on them of these are safe. You know what they are like with not safe in pregnancy labels even my heat pads I use for back pain have that written on them.

I found some veggie ones in Morrisons. Not sure how effective they are but certainly not doing any harm and have been taking them about a month now.

I understand you might be a a bit of worrier better ask you Dr to be xtra safe
But rest assured prenatal omegas now widely available and taken by many women.
I'm 30 weeks and been prescribed by Dr since first appointment although benefit on baby really starts 3rd trimester when nerve cells/connection go into full gear and also during BF and may help with PND.

As previously said, what they say for pregnancy is better avoid fish oils due to mercury contamination, that's all.

Take care.

I took mumomega for a while during my pg, and although they repeated on me something shocking, my 21 month old ds is a genius! (I might be biased... . Well worth it!