Pre-Natal state is a vital stage for mother and the infant. Proper care in this stage leads to a healthy baby and complication free delivery. Prenatal care is a special medical and nursing care given to women before and during pregnancy. Prenatal care is generally done by monthly / biweekly / weekly visits to Doctor for examination and taking care of diet an expecting mother takes. Prenatal care involves regular Physical examination and dietary regulation. One most important prenatal practice is to consume vitamins by expecting mother. DHA is one such vitamin which is necessary for pregnant women. 

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is an omega 3 fatty acid. DHA can be either in your diet or it is produced from eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) in your body. Vegetarian sources of DHA can be obtained from sea weeds. DHA plays an important role for the proper functioning of brain in adults and development of nervous system in first 6 months of our life. DHA also helps in prevention of heart disease. DHA is especially important for infants because it helps in development and growth of central nervous system and visual functioning. DHA is now recommended as a supplement for pregnant women.

DHA is also present in breast milk and is vital for child growth. Scientific study has shown that lack of DHA results in poor retina development, poor cognitive development and low visual accuracy. A society called ISSFAL (International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids) recommended 300mg/day of DHA for pregnant and lactating women. DHA is now an ingredient in several brands of infant formula.

Some study also show that vegetarians have low stores of DHA. DHA level in vegetarian may not rise even with high level of linolenic acid input (helps in production of DHA in body). There are some DHA supplements available in the market for vegetarians

DHA can be found in cold water fatty fish along with salmon, blufin tuna, mackerel, shellfish, sardines and herring. But being vegetarian you don’t make these products as a part of your diet. You have to search for the supplements for these foods. Before buying any supplements you have to carefully find the product which has quality DHA supplements. You can consult with your doctor for good DHA supplements. Once the child is born you have to choose a good infant formula which has DHA. Carefully reading the labels will certainly tell you if the product has DHA or not.   

You can get a good amount of DHA form foods like carrot, Peas, Brown rice, Flour, Whole wheat flour, Whey, Tomato pasta, Onion powder and Egg Whites. Flax seed and flax seed supplements are also a great source of Omega 3 fatty acid which gets converted to DHA in our body. It’s a good alternative for vegetarians. You can get flax oil and eat it with cereal and salads. Flax seed oil capsules are also available if you prefer so. 

Consuming a handful of Walnuts will increase the amount of Omega 3 fatty acids which will eventually increase your DHA amount. You can also eat green leafy vegetables to increase the amount of essential fatty acids. Eating a well balance diet is the key. Eat green, leafy vegetable, eggs, walnuts, flax seed and some supplements will ensure that you get essential amount of DHA.