Prenatal care and sea fish.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the effects of a prenatal nutritional counselling programme about the benefits of increasing dietary intake of sea fish.


METHODS
A hospital and parity matched observational comparison study. Four-hundred ninety-nine pregnant women, attending selected clinics for antenatal care, before 20 weeks gestation, were offered a 20-min nutritional advice session. They were encouraged to increase the intake of oily sea fish and reduce intake of food rich in transfatty acid. For each woman interviewed a corresponding control was established.


RESULTS
The mean birth weight was slightly higher in the study group (3349 g vs. 3284 g) and the difference persisted after adjusting for gestational age (85 g/week vs. 83 g/week). The rate of delivery before 37 weeks was lower in the study group (7.3% versus 9.5%). The mean neonatal head circumference was greater in the study group (34.7 cm vs. 34.4 cm).


CONCLUSIONS
The effect of advice to increase intake of oily fish warrants further study.
Odent
M R
MR
Primal Health Research Centre, London, UK.
McMillan
L
L
Kimmel
T
T
D000818:Animals; D001724:Birth Weight; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D005395:Fish Oils / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005399:Fishes; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D011295:Prenatal Care
D005395:Fish Oils