title: Fish oil supplementation improves pregnancy outcomes and size of the newborn: a meta-analysis of 21 randomized controlled trials.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To observe the effects of fish oil on related pregnancy outcomes.
  
  
  METHODS
  A systematic search of the Medline, EMBASE and Cochrane's library databases was conducted for the randomized controlled trials published till February 2015 that compared the effects of fish oil supplementation with a control diet in women during pregnancy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-one studies comprising 10,802 pregnant women were included. Dietary fish oil was associated with a 5.8-day increase in gestational age of the newborn, a 22% reduced risk for early preterm delivery (risk ratio [RR] = 0.78, 95% CI: 0.64-0.95, p = 0.01) and a 10% reduction in preterm delivery (RR = 0.90, 95% CI 0.81-1.00, p = 0.05). Fish oil supplementation was associated with higher infantile birth weight (51.23 g), birth length (0.28 cm) and head circumference (0.09 cm), and a 23% lower risk of low birth weight. No benefit from fish oil supplementation was found with regard to risk of intrauterine growth restriction or stillbirth.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Dietary fish oil during pregnancy was associated with reduced risk of preterm delivery and improved size of the newborn. Fish oil during pregnancy may be an effective prophylactic for preterm delivery.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics , General Hospital of the Air Force , Beijing , China and.
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: b General Hospital of People's Liberation Army (301 Hospital) , Beijing , China.
authors.forename: Xinran
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.affiliation: a Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics , General Hospital of the Air Force , Beijing , China and.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: a Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics , General Hospital of the Air Force , Beijing , China and.
authors.forename: Zhaohui
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.affiliation: a Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics , General Hospital of the Air Force , Beijing , China and.
authors.forename: Chundong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: a Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics , General Hospital of the Air Force , Beijing , China and.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tong
mesh_terms: D001724:Birth Weight; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D005260:Female; D005395:Fish Oils / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
chemical_list: D005395:Fish Oils
keywords: Docosahexaenoic acid; fish oil; growth measures; meta-analysis; preterm delivery