GESTATION LENGTH AND BIRTH-WEIGHT IN RELATION TO INTAKE OF MARINE N-3FATTY-ACIDS

It has been hypothesized that marine n-3 fatty acids ingested during p regnancy prolong duration of pregnancy and increase fetal growth rate in humans. By a combined self-administered questionnaire and interview applied in the 30th week of gestation we assessed dietary intake of m arine n-3 fatty acids and energy in a population-based sample of 965 p regnant Danish women; in a random 14 % subsample we also measured mari ne n-3 fatty acids relative to arachidonic acid (FA-ratio) in erythroc ytes. Mean intake of marine n-3 fatty acids was 0.25 (95 % range 0-0.7 5) g.d. We could detect no association between n-3 fatty acid intake a nd FA-ratio on the one hand, and gestation length, birth weight and bi rth length on the other. The analyses were adjusted for maternal heigh t, prepregnant weight, parity and smoking. The conclusion from the stu dy was that within the intake range of this population, marine n-3 fat ty acids ingested in the weeks prior to the 30th week of pregnancy see m not to be a predictor of gestation length or fetal growth rate.