Pregnant women may benefit from taking a nutritional supplement, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) which is commonly found in fish and fish oil supplements, according to a study from researchers at the University of Kansas and the University of Cincinnati.
Early preterm births may be dramatically decreased with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) supplements, with a dose of 1000 mg more effective for pregnant women with low DHA levels than the 200 mg found in some prenatal supplements, according to the study published in EClinicalMedicine, a clinical journal of The Lancet.
"Currently it is recommended for pregnant women to take 200 mg daily of DHA during pregnancy, which is included in most prenatal vitamins," says Emily DeFranco, DO, professor and director of maternal-fetal medicine in the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
DeFranco spoke about the research with WKRC-TV in Cincinnati for a Sunday morning segment. (Segment starts at 9:13.)
