Omega-3s in preterm birth prevention

Talking Nutrition Editors

Early preterm infants often require extensive intensive care for prematurity-related morbidity and long-term support for associated health problems. Healthcare costs can therefore be high; one key study estimates that each child born before 34 weeks' gestation costs the UK National Health Service (NHS) about £60,000, and in the US this figure reaches US $150,000 per child born prematurely. Gestational age at delivery is also important – delaying premature births by a week could potentially save £260 million a year in the UK. The review, published in November 2018, examines current management strategies for the prevention of preterm birth and found that existing methods, such as the administration of progesterone and cervical cerclage, have limitations when it comes to, availability, and safety. Drawing from 70 scientific studies, the review resulted in the development of clinical practice recommendations for pregnant women to incorporate omega-3 LCPUFA supplementation, including a minimum of 500 mg DHA, into their daily routines, since Western diets often have intakes as low as 15 mg/day.

Taking the research further, a study published in Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids conducted a cost benefit analysis to determine if omega-3 DHA supplementation during pregnancy may reduce pregnancy-related in-patient hospital costs. The results were compared to similar data on the impact of smoking, drinking, maternal age and BMI during pregnancy. Figures showed that in-patient costs could decrease by AUD$92 on average per singleton pregnancy with DHA supplementation, potentially leading to savings of AUD$15-51 million per year for the Australian public hospital system.

Since the incidence of early preterm labor is even higher in the US than Australia, and the number of US pregnancies is growing each year, a further review published in Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids examined the national hospital costs and net savings following DHA supplementation in the US. As part of the Kansas University DHA Outcomes Study (KUDOS), women were supplemented with 600 mg algal DHA per day for 26 weeks of pregnancy. The results suggested that net savings of US $1,484 per infant could be achieved and that, overall, omega-3 DHA supplementation could lead to potential hospital savings of US $6 billion and net savings of US $5.84 billion nationally (based on an average of four million births per year).

There is strong evidence to suggest that omega-3 LCPUFA supplementation, including a minimum of 500 mg DHA, could be a safe, accessible and cost-effective intervention strategy to reduce the risk of preterm births as part of future healthcare plans. However, as there are no current official US guidelines in place for omega-3 LCPUFA supplementation during pregnancy to reduce the risk of prematurity, this is an important first step in developing national guidelines for supplementation. Further research needs to be carried out to determine the best way to be certain that women have access to, and understand the importance of, omega-3 LCPUFAs and what supplementation means to the health of their newborn baby.