The Pre-Natal stage is a vital stage for a mother and infant. Proper care in this stage is important to ensure a healthy baby and complication free delivery. Prenatal care is simply regular medical and nursing care given to women before and during pregnancy. Prenatal care requires monthly / biweekly / weekly visits to the Doctor. Prenatal care involves regular Physical examination and dietary regulations. One of the most important healthful prenatal practices is to consume vitamins by expecting mothers. DHA is one such vitamin which is necessary for pregnant women.

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is an omega 3 fatty acid. DHA is produced from eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) in your body.One naturally ocurring vegetarian source of DHA can be obtained from seaweed. DHA plays an important role in the proper functioning of the brain in adults and development of nervous system in first 6 months of our life. DHA also helps in prevention of heart disease. DHA is especially important for infants because it helps in the development and growth of central nervous system and visual functioning. DHA is now recommended as a supplement for pregnant women.

DHA is also present in breast milk and is vital for child growth. Scientific study has shown that lack of DHA results in poor retina development, poor cognitive development and low visual accuracy. A society called ISSFAL (International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids) recommended 300mg/day of DHA for pregnant and lactating women. DHA is now an ingredient in several brands of infant formula.

Some study also show that vegetarians have low stores of DHA. DHA level in vegetarian may not rise even with high level of linolenic acid input (helps in production of DHA in body). There are some DHA supplements available in the market for vegetarians.

DHA can be found in cold water fatty fish along with salmon, blufin tuna, mackerel, shellfish, sardines and herring. But being vegetarian you don’t make these products as a part of your diet. You have to search for the supplements for these foods. Before buying any supplements you have to carefully find the product which has quality DHA supplements. You can consult with your doctor for good DHA supplements. Once the child is born you have to choose a good infant formula which has DHA. Carefully reading the labels will certainly tell you if the product has DHA or not.

You can get a good amount of DHA form foods like carrot, Peas, Brown rice, Flour, Whole wheat flour, Whey, Tomato pasta, Onion powder and Egg Whites. Flax seed and flax seed supplements are also a great source of Omega 3 fatty acid which gets converted to DHA in our body. It’s a good alternative for vegetarians. You can get flax oil and eat it with cereal and salads. Flax seed oil capsules are also available if you prefer so.

Consuming a handful of Walnuts will increase the amount of Omega 3 fatty acids which will eventually increase your DHA amount. You can also eat green leafy vegetables to increase the amount of essential fatty acids. Eating a well balance diet is the key. Eat green, leafy vegetable, eggs, walnuts, flax seed and some supplements will ensure that you get essential amount of DHA.

This information is for general guide only and should never be replaced for professional Doctor Advice. I hope this information was helpful for you. Any comment and suggestions are welcome.

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What is DHA and why is it needed in pre-natal vitamins?

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is an essential omega-3 fatty acid responsible for many physiological roles particularly  in early development.

The human body cannot synthesize DHA from fatty acid precursors and as a result must be obtained through the diet.

DHA is vital for brain development in fetal and infant stages as well as for the maintenance of normal brain function throughout life.

DHA is required for brain cells to communicate properly.

During fetal development, maternal DHA is preferentially transported across the placenta and into fetal circulation. DHA accrues rapidly in the human brain during the third trimester of preganancy and during the early postnatal period. Maternal omega-III fatty acid stores are the sole source of DHA for the fetus as well as for exclusively breast-fed infants. DHA is the most abundant omega-III fatty acid in human breast milk. Due primarily to the less-than-average consumption of seafood and coldwater fish, American women have among the lowest levels of DHA in breast milk. Hence the recommendation for fish oil supplementation for pregnant and nursing mothers.

In the United States, infant formulas do not require supplementation with DHA. But, In Japan and most of Europe, infant formulas are supplemented with DHA.  Some premium infant formulas in the United States do contain DHA. These formulas typically contain 8-17 mg of DHA per 100 kilocalories of formula.

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WHICH VEGETARIAN FOODS CONTAIN DHA AND EPA?

Vegetarian diets contain low levels of EPA and DHA, mainly from dairy products and eggs; vegan diets do not normally contain EPA or DHA. The only plant sources of EPA and DHA are microalgae and sea vegetables.
Sea vegetables are not a concentrated source of these omega-3 fatty acids and do not provide significant amounts of omega-3 fatty acids for most people.

Fish, especially fatty fish, do have DHA and EPA. This is not because the fish produce these fatty acids but because the fish eat microalgae containing DHA and EPA. A vegan DHA made from micro algae has been developed and is being added to some foods and used to make supplements.

MUST WE GET DHA AND EPA FROM FOOD, OR CAN OUR BODIES PRODUCE THESE OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS? DO VEGANS GET ENOUGH DHA AND EPA?

Our bodies are able to produce some DHA and EPA from alpha-linolenic acid, but we are not very efficient at this production. The rate of conversion is low in women and very low in men. Vegans who do not use
DHA supplements or eat DHA-fortified foods must rely on conversion of alpha-linolenic acid to DHA and EPA. Some studies have found that blood levels of EPA and DHA are lower in vegans and vegetarians than in
meat-eaters. Whether or not these lower levels have health consequences is not known. The concentration of DHA in breastmilk from vegan women is lower than that in lacto-ovo vegetarians or non-vegetarians.Milk EPA concentration can be increased if dietary
alpha-linolenic acid intake increases, but milk DHA
content remains unchanged

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