Is Marine Oils safe while breastfeeding?
Here is what NIH LactMed, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's authority on medicines and breastfeeding, reports about Marine Oils. This is a summary of that source — not our own verdict.
Effects on the breastfed infant
Ninety-five pregnant women at risk of having an allergic infant were randomized to daily supplements of 2.7 grams of omega-3 fatty acids (EPA 1.6 grams and DHA 1.1 grams) or a placebo from week 25 of pregnancy until 3 months of lactation. Infants of supplemented mothers had fewer allergies than unsupplemented infants, but it is unclear is the results were caused by transfer during pregnancy or during lactation.[ 38 , 47 ] A small sample of children whose mothers were randomized to receive either fish oil or olive oil during the first 4 months of lactation were examined at 13 years of age. Boys, but not girls, whose mothers received fish oil supplements trended towards short heights, apparently because of a delay in puberty. Boys also had a statistically significantly higher systolic blood pressure by an average of 3.9 mm Hg than girls.[ 21 ] Another study of the same cohort found no differences in self-rated socioemotional outcomes or physical activity at 13 years of age.[ 22 ] One study found that supplementation of mothers with fish oil during pregnancy and postpartum lactation decreased plasma hydroperoxides especially in newborn at delivery and at 2.5 months of age, and increased superoxide dismutase and catalase in breastfed infants at 2.5 months of age. All of these changes indicate a decrease in oxidative stress in the infants.[ 24 ] Fifty-two breastfeeding mothers provided milk samples at 3 months postpartum for fatty acid analysis and completed the Infant Behavior Questionnaire. Infants whose mothers milk was richer in n-3 PUFAs had lower scores on the negative affectivity domain of the IBQ-R, a component of temperament associated with a risk for internalizing disorders later in life. These associations remained statistically significant after considering covariates, including maternal age, marital status, and infant birth weight. The n-6 PUFAs, n-6/n-3 ratio, and total fat of milk were not associated with infant temperament.[ 48 ] Milk samples from the mot
Effects on milk supply
Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.
Levels in milk
Numerous studies have examined the effect of omega-3 fatty acid ingestion during pregnancy and lactation on breastmilk fatty acid composition. Only studies in which supplementation was started postpartum are reviewed below. Maternal Levels. Five nursing mothers were supplemented with fish oil containing 1080 mg of EPA and 720 mg of DHA daily for 21 days, beginning at 2 weeks postpartum. Milk samples were collected daily before the dose; once weekly, milk samples were also collected at 4, 8, 12 and 16 hours after the dose. On day 21, predose milk levels of DHA (by 89%), EPA (by 525%) and another omega-3 fatty acid (docosapentaenoic acid; by 143%) were significantly increased over their initial levels. Mean and peak levels increased each week during the study on each of the days where sequential levels were measured. Peak omega-3 fatty acid levels occurred 12 hours after ingestion.[ 30 ] New mothers intending to breastfeed for at least 12 weeks were randomized to receive placebo (n = 12) or algal-derived DHA in a dose of 0.2 (n = 10), 0.4 (n = 12), 0.9 (n = 10) or 1.3 (n = 8) grams daily starting at day 5 postpartum. At 12 weeks postpartum, DHA levels in breastmilk were linearly proportional to the dose of DHA ingested, expressed as the following percentages of total breastmilk fatty acids: 0.21% (placebo), 0.35% (0.2 grams), 0.46% (0.4 grams), 0.86% (0.9 grams), and 1.13% (1.3 grams).[ 31 ] Mothers who were breastfeeding at least 75% were randomized to receive supplements of either high-DHA algal oil (n = 6), high-DHA eggs (n = 6), low EPA fish oil (n = 6) or regular eggs (n = 6) beginning at 2 weeks postpartum. Supplementation provided doses of 230 mg, 170 mg, 260 mg and 35 mg daily of DHA, respectively. After 6 weeks of supplementation, breastmilk DHA was increased in all supplemented groups and correlated with DHA intake. Breastmilk DHA was decreased in the regular egg group.[ 32 ] Ten mothers of preterm infants ( 29 weeks gestational age) were given 1200 mg of DH
Source: NIH LactMed (National Library of Medicine).
Educational summary of an authoritative source — not medical advice. Never start, stop, or change a medicine while breastfeeding without confirming with your doctor.