Natural Supplement May Up Preterm Delivery Risk – Blogging for Prematurity Awareness
Monday, November 3, 2008 16:56
A recent study out of Canada examined the use of natural health remedies among women in Quebec before during and after pregnancy, and found that 10% of women used natural supplements while pregnant. Surprisingly, researchers found that while the baseline rate of premature birth was 2-3%, women who consumed flaxseed oil during the second and third trimester had a 12% preterm birth rate. Interesting, the consumption of whole flaxseeds was not associated with an elevated risk of delivering a premature baby.
In this study, the most commonly used substances during pregnancy were chamomile, green tea, peppermint tea and flaxseed oil. Flaxseed oil is rich in the omega-3 fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), which appears to have a benefit in heart disease and other inflammatory conditions.
Certainly, aditional research will be needed to verify these results, but the current study makes an important point. Just because a substance is natural, doesn’t mean it is safe.
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- Folic Acid Awareness Low Among US Women
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Nate the Bulk Herb Store Guy says:
January 30th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
This seems to be one of those studies where you walk away and say “HuH”? I definitely agree that further studies need to be conducted before assuming that flax seed oil causes premature birth.- Nate
Kristie says:
January 30th, 2009 at 2:04 pm
Very true, but in the meantime, I think I’d skip the flax seed oil if I were pregnant until there is another study. We know that some plants contain chemicals that can mimic our hormones, like the estrogen and oxytocin like effects of blue cohosh. Better safe than sorry at this point, I guess.
Rebecca says:
June 25th, 2009 at 9:00 am
It’s certainly true that “natural” doesn’t equal “safe.” But I think this report also points out the importance of properly controlled research. Traditional sources often suggest that pregnant women avoid peppermint tea, for example, and yet it doesn’t appear that the flaxseed oil consumption was separated out from consumption of peppermint tea.
Kristie says:
June 26th, 2009 at 6:58 pm
Very good point. Thanks for your comment!