hello and welcome to amazing milestones a new web series designed to provide you with expert advice and pertinent information for everything baby my name is Tara and I'll be your host and together we're going to explore subjects ranging from developmental milestones your first trip with your baby starting solids and a whole lot more and I am particularly excited because I'm currently 26 weeks pregnant with my first baby so I'm reading the literature I've joined parenting forums online I keep track of the leading mommy blogs I love those I started a prenatal class I guess you could say I just can't get enough but really I just want to know as much as possible and be as prepared as possible to do all I can to help my little one reach those important milestones and that's exactly what the Enfamil series is all about so let's get started today we're going to talk about nutrition now whether you're pregnant like me or whether you've already given birth nutrition is most likely a really big priority if not the priority for you right now and you know we need so many nutrients we we need calcium fiber folic acid really important iron but what about DHA otherwise known as omega-3 fatty acids mm-hmm so today we are going to find out just what the big deal is with these fatty acids and help us do that we're going to meet Lorraine finet she is a registered dietician with lots of experience in regards to prenatal and pediatric nutrition let's go hi Laraine thank you for taking some time to meet with me today um I guess my first question is simply what is DHA DHA stands for docosahexaenoic acid and it's a type of omega-3 fat that's naturally found in breast milk as well as some types of fish and shellfish and what are the benefits of DHA and why are they so important to the development of the baby DHA is important for the development of the baby because it helps to support normal brain and eye development in the womb during the last trimester of pregnancy and then once the baby is born up to 2 years of age the development of their brain and the eye is very rapid so a good supply of DHA is needed during this time to support this growth well speaking of an adequate supply how much an expectant and nursing mother be getting each day so currently there's no Dietary Reference intake that has been established for DHA however despite this experts in lipid nutrition have recommended an intake of 200 milligrams per day for pregnant and breastfeeding women where do I get these 200 milligrams what foods are rich in DHA so certain types of fish and shellfish contain high levels of DHA but are also low in mercury some of examples of these are mackerel salmon herring a rainbow trout also can't light tuna and shrimp and should expectant and nursing moms be taking a supplement so as Anton Canada's guy in the meat and alternative swing group one of the recommendations is to eat at least two food guide servings of fish each week if mom is unable to eat fish or doesn't like fish it would be important to speak to your doctor about whether or not you should be taking a supplement all right that's great to know what about when the baby is born what are the best sources of DHA for children and what can I do as a mom to make sure that my baby is getting sufficient DHA so in the womb the baby will get DHA from the mom from the food that she eats and then once the baby is born breastfed babies will get DHA from the breast milk from the food that mom needs if you're formula-feeding it's important to note that not all formulas in Canada contain DHA and the ones that do not all of them contain an expert recommended level of DHA so experts such as the eye tissues of Canada recommend that babies that are not breastfed receive a formula that contains at least point two percent DHA of total fatty acids if you're looking to feed your baby with infant formula look for an infant formula that contains DHA on the label it will be listed as docosahexaenoic acid if your baby is on solids you can give them DHA by feeding cam fatty fish just make sure that the texture is appropriate for the age of your baby also if you're concerned that your baby might not be getting enough DHA speak to your doctor okay I'll do that well that's a lot of really interesting and very important - Thank You Larry for sharing your knowledge I appreciate it thanks for coming in - thank you well I don't know about you but I am definitely having salmon for dinner tonight now if you're not getting enough DJ now is the time to add some fish to your grocery list and that's it for today's episode join us next time for tips on traveling with your baby to make sure you have a safe and wonderful first holiday together see you then