This paper reviews current knowledge on the role of the long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, C22:6n-3) and arachidonic acid (AA,, in maternal and term infant nutrition as well as infant development. Consensus recommendations and practice guidelines for health-care providers supported by the World Association of Perinatal Medicine, the Early Nutrition Academy, and the Child Health Foundation are provided. The fetus and neonate should receive LC-PUFA in amounts sufficient to support optimal visual and cognitive development. Moreover, the consumption of oils rich in n-3 LC-PUFA during pregnancy reduces the risk for early premature birth. Pregnant and lactating women should aim to achieve an average daily intake of at least 200 mg DHA. For healthy term infants, we recommend and fully endorse breastfeeding, which supplies preformed LC-PUFA, as the preferred method of feeding. When breastfeeding is not possible, we recommend use of an infant formula providing DHA at levels between 0.2 and 0.5 weight percent of total fat, and with the minimum amount of AA equivalent to the contents of DHA. Dietary LC-PUFA supply should continue after the first six months of life, but currently there is not sufficient information for quantitative recommendations.

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Objective To evaluate the association between maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and the risk of stillbirth and neonatal death and to study the causes of death among the children. Design Cohort study of pregnant women receiving routine antenatal care in Aarhus, Denmark.Setting Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark, 1989Denmark, -1996 Population A total of 24,505 singleton pregnancies (112 stillbirths, 75 neonatal deaths) were included in the analyses. Methods Information on maternal pre-pregnancy weight, height, lifestyle factors and obstetric risk factors were obtained from self-administered questionnaires and hospital files. We classified the population according to pre-pregnancy BMI as underweight (BMI <18.5 kg/m 2 ), normal weight (BMI 18.5 -24.9 kg/m 2 ), overweight (BMI 25 -29.9 kg/m 2 ) and obese (BMI 30.0 kg/m 2 or more).Main outcome measures Stillbirth and neonatal death and causes of death.Results Maternal obesity was associated with a more than doubled risk of stillbirth (odds ratio ¼ 2.8, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.5-5.3) and neonatal death (odds ratio ¼ 2.6, 95% CI: 1.2-5.8) compared with women of normal weight. No statistically significantly increased risk of stillbirth or neonatal death was found among underweight or overweight women. Adjustment for maternal cigarette smoking, alcohol and caffeine intake, maternal age, height, parity, gender of the child, years of schooling, working status and cohabitation with partner did not change the conclusions, nor did exclusion of women with hypertensive disorders or diabetes mellitus. No single cause of death explained the higher mortality in children of obese women, but more stillbirths were caused by unexplained intrauterine death and fetoplacental dysfunction among obese women compared with normal weight women. Conclusion Maternal obesity more than doubled the risk of stillbirth and neonatal death in our study. The present and other studies linking maternal obesity to an increased risk of severe adverse pregnancy outcomes emphasise the need for public interventions to prevent obesity in young women.

Objective To test the postulated preventive effects of dietary n-3 fatty acids on pre-term delivery, intrauterine growth retardation, and pregnancy induced hypertension.Design In six multicentre trials, women with high risk pregnancies were randomly assigned to receive fish oil (Pikasol) or olive oil in identically-looking capsules from around 20 weeks (prophylactic trials) or 33 weeks (therapeutic trials) until delivery. Setting Nineteen hospitals in Europe.Samples Four prophylactic trials enrolled 232,280, and 386 women who had experienced previous preterm delivery, intrauterine growth retardation, or pregnancy induced hypertension respectively, and 579 with twin pregnancies. Two therapeutic trials enrolled 79 women with threatening pre-eclampsia and 63 with suspected intrauterine growth retardation.Interventions The fish oil provided 2.7 g and 6.1 g n-3 fatty aciddday in the prophylactic and therapeutic trials, respectively. Main outcome measures Preterm delivery, intrauterine growth retardation, pregnancy induced hypertension.Results Fish oil reduced recurrence risk of pre-term delivery from 33% to 21% (odds ratio 0.54 (95% CI 0.30 to 0.98)) but did not affect recurrence risks for the other outcomes (OR 1.26; 0.74 to 2.12 and 0.98; 0.63 to 1.53, respectively). In twin pregnancies, the risks for all three outcomes were similar in the two intervention arms (95% CI for the three odds ratios were 0-73 to 1.40,0-90 to 1.52, and 0.83 to 2.32, respectively). The therapeutic trials detected no significant effects on pre-defined outcomes. In the combined trials, fish oil delayed spontaneous delivery (proportional hazards ratio 1.22; 1.07 to 1.39, P = 0-002).Conclusions Fish oil supplementation reduced the recurrence risk of pre-term delivery, but had no effect on pre-term delivery in twin pregnancies. Fish oil had no effect on intrauterine growth retardation and pregnancy induced hypertension, affecting neither recurrence risk nor risk in twin pregnancies.

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Nicotine patches had no influence on smoking cessation during pregnancy, although they might increase birth weight in comparison with placebo.