Effect of omega-3 : Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) supplementations on the neonatal birth weight among anemic pregnant women / Doaa Mohamed Reda ; Supervised Shadia Abdelkader , Hanan Fahmy Azzam

Thesis (Ph.D.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Nursing - Department of Maternal and Newborn Health Nursing

The need for omega-3 fatty acids, especially docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), during pregnancy has received much attention, but evidence of its effects on birth outcomes for anemic pregnant women is still limited. Aim: examine the effect of omega-3(DHA) supplementations on the neonatal birth weight among anemic pregnant women. Design: quasi-experimental non-equivalent control group design. Sample: Purposive sample of a total of 240 anemic women divided into two groups according to certain inclusion criteria. Setting: antenatal care outpatient clinic and delivery unit (section10- emergency) at El Manial Maternity Hospital. Tools: six tools were used for data collection in this study for one year. Results: There were highly statistically significant differences between study & control groups regarding neonatal gestational age, and anthropometric measurements. 61.7% of mothers in the study group as compared with 45.8% in the control group delivered neonates at ±39 wks of gestation, at p-value = 0.0001; mean neonatal weight 2608.3±459.1in the study group as compared with 2375±219.4 in the control group P= 0.0001; mean neonatal length 49.5±1.3 in the study group as compared with 48.8±1.8 in the control group P= 0.002 and mean neonatal head circumference 33.8±0.54 in the study group as compared with 33.3±1.4 in the control group at p=0.0001. Conclusion: supplementation with omega3 (DHA) is effective in improvement gestational age and anthropometric measurements (weight of the neonate, length, head circumference and chest circumference)

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