What should pregnant women eat to reduce their baby's risk of asthma?

New research suggests that pregnant women who eat fish or take fish oil supplements may protect their babies from the risk of asthma, according to AFP.

Experts at the University of South Florida (USA) reviewed two previous studies before concluding that children of mothers who consumed high doses of omega-3 fatty acids daily during the third trimester of pregnancy, whether from fish or supplements, were less likely to experience breathing problems.

The first study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, examined 346 women in the third trimester of pregnancy who took high doses of omega-3 fatty acids daily and 349 women who took a placebo. The study showed that women with the lowest blood counts benefited most from the fish oil supplement.

The second study randomly assigned pregnant women in their third trimester to groups receiving fish oil, a placebo, and no oil. The fish oil group took omega-3 fatty acid supplements daily, while the placebo group was given olive oil daily. The no-oil group was informed of the study's purpose and told that they could take fish oil supplements or eat fish during their third trimester if they wished.

The results showed that children of women in the fish oil group and the "no-fish oil" group used less asthma medication by age 24, indicating that both groups, regardless of supplementation or fish consumption, had a lower incidence of asthma. The study results were published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

According to TNO