Low levels of omega-3 can cause preterm birth

Health authorities already recommend that pregnant women eat fish, but avoid those high in mercury, including swordfish, tuna and shark. The findings indicated that pregnant women who had low plasma levels of long chain n-3 fatty acids -- found in fish oil -- in their first and second trimesters were at a significantly higher risk of preterm birth as compared with women who had higher levels of these fatty acids, said lead author Sjurdur F. Olsen from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston. Preterm birth is a leading cause of neonatal death and is associated with cognitive deficiencies and cardiometabolic problems later in life among survivors.

Read more: The Harvard Gazette