I recently found out my wife was pregnant. And in preparing for the next nine months my wife and I discussed what supplements etc should should be taking while pregnant. The obvious is a good prenatal vitamin with a good amount of folic acid. The other is fish oil. She is currently taking 650mg EPA, 450mg DHA a day.

As I have been researching things more and more online....every once and a while I come across someone saying avoid EPA during pregnancy and only take DHA. The only reason I have seen so far for this position is that EPA somehow competes with the DHA in the fetus and displaces the DHA and therefore negates the positives of the DHA.

I did search the boards here and in one thread I found someone did say to take a lot of DHA but no explanation why was given.

Can anyone expand on this or provide more reasoning or information as to why EPA should be avoided during pregnancy?

Thanks

Im not 100% sure on the EPA concept, but will say that my wife is almost 6 months pregnant and I have her taking Expecta (which is only DHA). Its also made from non-fish sources, so there is no, or very little mercury. Here is a link-

http://www.expectalipil.com/

Thank you for the link. I dont see any mention of EPA on the stire, positive or negative. So the question is in regards to this particular product, is it DHA only because EPA can't be gotten from non-fish sources? Or is it DHA only because EPA is not something pregnant women shoudl be taking.

Let me correct myself, EPA can be found in plant sources so there must be some reason why EPA is not included.

It's just theory based on the idea that DHA is more important for early development, and the two compete somewhat.

I say, any natural intake of fish would contain a mix of the two. Get a decently balanced (not high EPA), high-quality brand with both IMO.

The argument is that EPA has growth retarding effects via an oppositional effect to Arachidonic Acid.

This is why levels of EPA versus DHA and AA are controlled in infant formula.

However, it is most unlikely it has any harmfull effects taken via the mother, rather than direct in infant formula. Rather the opposite. Its no different to a typical fish diet.

IIRC pretty much opnly salmon has a high DHA / EPA ratio that is close to the alledgedly safe ratio for infant formula - further investigation appeared to show only the most cursory reasons for this worrying, and most data seems to contradict any reason to worry about DHA/EPA ratios with normal ranges and that's in infant formula.

So I wouldn't worry. I'd take cod liver oil from good sources, or fish oil. The other main thing thats inportant is maternal vitamin d and infant exposures to light.

Thats a very good poitn as most of the studies are on women fish eating habits, which certainly has both EPA and DHA.

here's something john berardi just wrote on his precision nutrition website found in his blog if this link doesn't work.
http://www.precisionnutrition.com/members/...read.php?t=6335

Take choline to improve memory and other cognitive abilities of the growing fetus. Just don't use soy lecithin.
Egg yolks, choline chloride, or choline bitartrate should do it.
And don't drink or smoke -- at all, ever, during pregnancy.

The fetal origins of memory: the role of dietary choline in optimal brain development.
Perinatal choline influences brain structure and function.
Nutritional importance of choline for brain development.
Choline supplementation following third-trimester-equivalent alcohol exposure attenuates behavioral alterations in rats.
Nutrition and the developing brain: nutrient priorities and measurement.
Perinatal choline supplementation attenuates behavioral alterations associated with neonatal alcohol exposure in rats.
Metabolic imprinting of choline by its availability during gestation: implications for memory and attentional processing across the lifespan.
Effects of a commercial soy lecithin preparation on development of sensorimotor behavior and brain biochemistry in the rat.