By MEGAN THIELKING
Fatty acids found in fish oil taken during pregnancy could help prevent asthma among children — but experts caution more research is needed before expectant mothers pop the supplement.
You’ll want to know: Researchers randomly assigned 736 women who were six months pregnant to receive either a fish oil capsule or a placebo pill each day. They followed the women’s children for three years after birth. Children of the treatment group had a 30 percent lower risk of persistent wheeze or asthma than the offspring of the placebo group, according to results published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine. Kids born to mothers who had received the fish oil supplement also had a reduced risk of lower respiratory tract infections. The treatment didn’t seem to have any effect on eczema or allergy risk.
