Prenatal DHA supplements prevent infection in offspring

When women take a supplement of the omega 3 fatty acid DHA during pregnancy, their babies have fewer cold symptoms and shorter illnesses, new research indicates. At 1 month and 3 months of age, about 38 percent of babies exposed to docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in the womb experienced cold symptoms, compared to about 45 percent of the babies whose mothers were given a placebo supplement while they were pregnant. Results of the study will be published in the September issue of Pediatrics. The research was funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health and the March of Dimes Foundation.