# Omega 3 6 9 - caution!



## bloomfield

I have been taking an Omega 3 6 9 supplement since before I became I pregnant. I'm now 14 weeks. I asked my doctor if it was ok to continue with the supplement, and he said it was safe and actually recommended in pregnancy.

It turns out, I wasn't very informed about the supplement and have since learned that it contains borage oil (400 mg) and is NOT recommended for pregnancy.

Now I'm in a panic and am worried about potential birth defects. 

Can anybody share some insights on this?

Thanks!


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## gemabee

omega 3 6 9 is recommended in pregnancy... think u can get it without borage oil in it.
xx


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## bloomfield

thanks gemabee! 

Does anybody know what risk, if any, borage oil poses if taken in the first trimester? I've already taken it and wonder how worried I should be.


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## BabySeal

I think you should ask your doctor just to be sure.

I googled it a read about it and some say it is a uterine stimulant/ ripens cervix used in 3rd tri. But I dont know how backed that info is so please dont take my word for anything. I would think everything would be okay especially since you are okay now :). But ask your doc again for peace of mind.


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## Phinners

Is there another thread on this somewhere? I posted some journal evidence in it but it's not in this thread? Am I going daft?

But no it isnt ok to take (Borage oil), it is connected with birth defects and other things.


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## AP

^yeah the threads in 2nd tri


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## Cra

Just wondering the outcome re, borage oil concerns at 14 weeks. I am in the same situation. I havent been taking it for long but i am now concerned.


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## veganmama

don't really see why you feel like you need the whole omega complex as most people are eating *way too much* omega 6. a good quality DHA/EPA supplement is what you should be striving for.


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## bubbles123

I agree with veganmama, you only really need to take omega 3 DHA/EPA. There is one I would recommend to you if you are in the UK. It's called Mind and More https://www.hollandandbarrett.com/pages/product_detail.asp?pid=2631&prodid=2915&sid=0
is available through Holland and Barrett and is suitable for use during pregnancy. If you are in the USA, there is a company called Life's DHA that makes a similar product.
Most other veggie omega supplements are best avoided due to either Rosemary oil (which has been linked to causing the cervix to contract) or borage oil. I don't know about the implications of taking the others I'm afraid but would definitely recommend switching to one of the above products.If you are not veggie, then the antenatal DHA supplements that come with Pregnacare and the like are fine to take as are high purity fish oils - they have to be high purity though or they may contain mercury. There is no mercury in the veggie algae oil supplements so they are IMO the best choice X


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## ash086

agreed omega 3 is the only one you really need.


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## Cra

I do have my own health reasons why i went with an omega 3 6 9 but was not told of the borage oil concern when I was recommended to do so.


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## Cra

I do have my health reasons why i went with an omega 3 6 9 but unfortunately was not told of borage oil concern when recommended to do so.


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## sazpark

Hello Bloomfield, 

I wonder if you are still using this account?
As I just realized that I also have been taking the omega 3.6.9 that contains Borage Oil and I did not realize that it is not recommended during pregnancy. 
I am 17 weeks pregnant and have been taking it religiously for the past 17 weeks.......... I am really concerned. 

SInce you posted your concern in 2010, you have already given birth. 

Is everything okay with your child? 

I would really appreciate it if you or someone could advise as I am really worried now...

So far, my pregnancy has been smooth... and ultra sound, they didnt detect anything strange yet... but you never know. 

Please HELP!!

Thank you!


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## babybirdangel

sazpark said:


> Hello Bloomfield,
> 
> I wonder if you are still using this account?
> As I just realized that I also have been taking the omega 3.6.9 that contains Borage Oil and I did not realize that it is not recommended during pregnancy.
> I am 17 weeks pregnant and have been taking it religiously for the past 17 weeks.......... I am really concerned.
> 
> SInce you posted your concern in 2010, you have already given birth.
> 
> Is everything okay with your child?
> 
> I would really appreciate it if you or someone could advise as I am really worried now...
> 
> So far, my pregnancy has been smooth... and ultra sound, they didnt detect anything strange yet... but you never know.
> 
> Please HELP!!
> 
> Thank you!

I am in the same predicament! I have been taking fish oil with flax seed oil, omega 3,6,9 and borage oil. I am going to stop taking it and get the fish oil without borage oil in it.


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## lauren10

well, i'm in 3rd tri now and have been taking 3/6/9 all along! i didn't know. I've read nothing about birth defects, but softening of the cervix and possibly pelvic ligaments. No harm done, the baby is still inside and I've had many ultrasounds that were all fine....I'll just stop now! Thanks for the info.


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## Nugget2

I am in the same boat. Let me guess, did we all take the Jaimeson brand? It doesn't have a warning lable for pregnancy! How much did you folks take? I didn't take it religiously but I counted and I've taken 123 pills. I am 27 weeks now. I know sometimes i took 3 (as the bottle suggests) and sometimes 1 or 2. Most of it was injested in my second trimester. Please see my post for the info I got from MotherRisk about it. My midwife really felt it was safe and said she has lots of patients taking Omega 3-6-9. Plus there is all of us, that makes me feel better! Please anyone let us know if you have problems!


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## anita665

Most people get plenty of omega 6 & 9 in their diet but not enough quality omega 3. To get your full dose of dha/epa it should ideally be from fish oil but then there is a risk of contamination from things like mercury from the fish and too much vitamin A if it's fish liver oil.

There are omega 3 fish oil capsules designed for pregnant women which are refined and safe. Pregnacare do one which I've taken right through pregnancy. In the UK you can also get Centrum Pregnancy Care Plus Omega 3, Sanatogen pregnancy mother to be plus omega 3 and Seven Seas Pregnancy plus.


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## MSKR5

Can any ladies fill me in on how everything ended up? I was taking the same capsules up until about 5.5weeks and now I'm freaking out!


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## summer rain

The main issue with borage oil is it is like a twice as strong version of evening primrose oil so can cause miscarriage I have also heard earlier in pregnancy it can theoretically cause birth defects but haven't found any clear info as to what these are and what the risk level is.

With regard to omega 3 supplements contrary to popular belief when it comes to supplements as opposed to getting it from your diet, fish oils aren't the best option but algal supplements are-as it is the algae that gives the fish the relevant fatty acids to begin with. The fish oil omega 3 is best absorbed if you actually eat two portions of oily fish a week otherwise if possible its best to take an algal version. There is a product called opti omega that is made by the same company that managed to source a plant based version of vitamin d3 (vitashine) and I believe it's available in the UK and US it isn't extracted using hexane or other nasty chemicals and provides a higher level of DHA and EPA than most fish oil based supplements. If you aren't able to take omega 3 or worry your diet is deficient in it don't worry too much, evidence of benefit isn't as strong as you would think. Also if you don't eat fish and only take or eat ALA I.e. from flaxseeds women can convert this to DHA better than men and a fairly large scale study from the University of East Anglia in 2010 found that people who had not eaten fish or taken fish oil supplements for a long time, if at all their body adapted to convert ALA into DHA and there was no real difference in their blood levels of DHA as opposed to those who ate fish regularly. Hopefully further research will be undertaken in this regard. Xx


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## MSKR5

summer rain said:


> The main issue with borage oil is it is like a twice as strong version of evening primrose oil so can cause miscarriage I have also heard earlier in pregnancy it can theoretically cause birth defects but haven't found any clear info as to what these are and what the risk level is.
> 
> With regard to omega 3 supplements contrary to popular belief when it comes to supplements as opposed to getting it from your diet, fish oils aren't the best option but algal supplements are-as it is the algae that gives the fish the relevant fatty acids to begin with. The fish oil omega 3 is best absorbed if you actually eat two portions of oily fish a week otherwise if possible its best to take an algal version. There is a product called opti omega that is made by the same company that managed to source a plant based version of vitamin d3 (vitashine) and I believe it's available in the UK and US it isn't extracted using hexane or other nasty chemicals and provides a higher level of DHA and EPA than most fish oil based supplements. If you aren't able to take omega 3 or worry your diet is deficient in it don't worry too much, evidence of benefit isn't as strong as you would think. Also if you don't eat fish and only take or eat ALA I.e. from flaxseeds women can convert this to DHA better than men and a fairly large scale study from the University of East Anglia in 2010 found that people who had not eaten fish or taken fish oil supplements for a long time, if at all their body adapted to convert ALA into DHA and there was no real difference in their blood levels of DHA as opposed to those who ate fish regularly. Hopefully further research will be undertaken in this regard. Xx

Thanks for responding! I haven't stopped researching since I found this out and really can't find much evidence for anything. 

Most talk about the regular dosage as being 1000-2000mg or even more and my pills just had 400mg in them. I was only taking it as my doctor told me to for TTC and then thought I'd continue because I know it was supposed to be good for brain development. 

At 5.5 weeks I got horrible morning sickness and haven't taken them since so I'm wondering how much damage I could have done at that dose and until only 5 weeks... My bottle has no warning or nothing! I'm so upset and worried that I can't sleep!


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## summer rain

I really wouldn't worry. I know ladies who were taking EPO or borage oil in early pregnancy unknowingly as they didn't find they were pregnant until 6 or 7 weeks and they were taking it prior to that for hormonal balancing reasons, they just stopped as soon as they were aware they were pregnant and no harm done at all xx


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## MSKR5

summer rain said:


> I really wouldn't worry. I know ladies who were taking EPO or borage oil in early pregnancy unknowingly as they didn't find they were pregnant until 6 or 7 weeks and they were taking it prior to that for hormonal balancing reasons, they just stopped as soon as they were aware they were pregnant and no harm done at all xx

Okay, thank you!! I needed to hear a few stories like that as none of the older ladies have reused this post - i'm assuming due to the fact that nothing happened and everything was totally fine!


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## chulie

Just wanted to let you ladies know I take New Chapter Wholemega 3,6,9 prenatal and I looked at their ingredients and it does not seem to contain Borage oil...in case you wanted one without it....


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## sunnyct

I'm sorry to be jumping in on this late...

MSKR5, did you ever hear back from your doctor about the possible impact at 5.5 weeks? I'm in the exact same boat that you were and freaking out a bit. I've been taking omega 3-6-9 since the beginning of my pregnancy (and for months before), and didn't know about the dangers of borage seed and flaxseed oil. My omega 3-6-9 supplement contained 400 mg of each. I'm particularly worried because I actually doubled up on the dosage and took 2 supplements a day for 3-4 days last week, after learning that I was supposed to be taking 200-300 mg of DHA a day. (The 3-6-9 supplement contained only 120 mg of DHA, which is why I started taking 2.) There was no message on the container about consulting with a doctor if pregnant and the directions for the capsules are to take 1-2 a day.

Others' feedback about women who have taken larger doses of borage oil before learning that they were pregnant is a help. I'd just love to know how you're doing, what you may have learned about potential effects in early pregnancy, and what helped you move past the worry that you experienced. (I'm hoping that you did!) I'm on the tail end of 5.5 weeks...almost at 6. My first prenatal visit with my ob-gyn won't be until 7 weeks.

Also, I'm new here, so I apologize if I haven't adhered to the correct protocol for following up!


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## MSKR5

sunnyct said:


> I'm sorry to be jumping in on this late...
> 
> MSKR5, did you ever hear back from your doctor about the possible impact at 5.5 weeks? I'm in the exact same boat that you were and freaking out a bit. I've been taking omega 3-6-9 since the beginning of my pregnancy (and for months before), and didn't know about the dangers of borage seed and flaxseed oil. My omega 3-6-9 supplement contained 400 mg of each. I'm particularly worried because I actually doubled up on the dosage and took 2 supplements a day for 3-4 days last week, after learning that I was supposed to be taking 200-300 mg of DHA a day. (The 3-6-9 supplement contained only 120 mg of DHA, which is why I started taking 2.) There was no message on the container about consulting with a doctor if pregnant and the directions for the capsules are to take 1-2 a day.
> 
> Others' feedback about women who have taken larger doses of borage oil before learning that they were pregnant is a help. I'd just love to know how you're doing, what you may have learned about potential effects in early pregnancy, and what helped you move past the worry that you experienced. (I'm hoping that you did!) I'm on the tail end of 5.5 weeks...almost at 6. My first prenatal visit with my ob-gyn won't be until 7 weeks.
> 
> Also, I'm new here, so I apologize if I haven't adhered to the correct protocol for following up!

Hey,

I actually haven't had an ultrasound yet (I'm 16 weeks, just waiting for my anatomy) so I have no idea if it had any effect. I started taking it the month I conceived and then stopped right around 5.5 weeks. I keep thinking that the dosage was pretty minimal compared to what the recommended does is when you are taking just borage oil. Also, taking just a plain oil by itself in a dose of 1500-2000mg is different than taking it as a combo in a supplement at only 400mg. I'm going to assume since no one came but here and wrote anything, likely they all had completely healthy babies. I think if I had of been writing on a forum and my child had a major birth defect, I would go back and say. From what I've read, Borage oil hasn't been tested for it's safety in pregnancy, so although it *could* potentially cause birth defects, it's not a proven fact or anything and there's not info about what problems it could cause for the baby. Hope you're doing okay, let me know if you talked to your doctor or anyone about it!


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## MotherHenn

It's not Omega 3 that pregnant women need it's DHA specifically. Children's brains don't need EPA and and in trying to get DHA from normal Omega 3 suppliments you get too much EPA. 

It's very important that you use pharmaceutical grade fish oil too.

For that reason I've stuck with Pregnacare Plus which ticks all the boxes.


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## Julia1984

Hi there, 

I just came across your post as I am in the same position and was taking an omega 369 supplement containing borage oil. I'm now 12 weeks pregnant and am panicking that I've harmed my baby. I can't believe there was no warning on the product! I'd love to hear how you're doing and if everything is ok with you and your baby? Praying all is fine!


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## sunnyct

Hi Julia,

I apologize for the delay in responding to you and hope you haven't been worrying too much. Before delving into too much detail, let me reassure you that you'll be fine!

In 2013, I worried myself sick after stumbling upon a few websites that said that borage oil and some of the other ingredients in the Omega 3-6-9 supplement I had been taking might lead to birth defects or otherwise cause harm to my baby. I was several weeks into the pregnancy when I discovered this, but still quite early on in the first trimester. 

I consulted numerous sources and not one of them seemed to think it was an issue. My obgyn instructed me to stop taking the supplements, but was not concerned about potential harm done. (When I'd first found out that I was pregnant, a nurse in the same practice had asked for my current medications. I had mentioned the Omega 3-6-9 supplement and she had said nothing about it being problematic.) I also consulted with a family friend, who has over 35 years of experience as a midwife. She had heard nothing throughout her career about the borage oil causing birth defects and mentioned only that it can be given in larger doses to women at the end of a pregnancy to help prepare the body for labor.

What ended up providing me with the most reassurance was a phone call to a regional and national teratology hotline. (I could swear that at the time, the one I called was called MotherRisk, but that now seems to be a website for something slightly different.) I think what may be the same resource that I called back in 2013 can now be found at a website called MotherToBaby. The hotline is staffed by specialists who answer questions about potential medications to avoid during pregnancy. I spoke with an incredibly knowledgeable, patient, and helpful woman by the name of Dee (who was tied to both the national hotline and a version of the hotline specifically for Arizona residents). Not only was she a specialist in teratology, but she also had an extensive background in genetics.

She was able to type 'borage oil' into a medical database and pulled up all references to potential risks of using borage oil during pregnancy. She found that a number of websites actually all use the exact same wording for their warning about borage oil, but each website seemed to cite one another (word for word), without linking back to an actual research or medical study. Finally, after much searching, she found the 1-2 medical studies on which these warnings must have been based. She read me the relevant details of the studies, in which rats had been given highly concentrated doses of borage oil, and although no adverse effects had been directly observed, the authors of the articles left open the possibility that in high quantities, it could potentially pose a risk. (In the study I remember her telling me about, a single sentence with vague language was the only reference to potential negative outcomes.) There were no known studies using human subjects at the time and no specific documented negative effects (i.e., no observed birth defects in humans or rats).

Sadly, I did, in fact, lose the pregnancy a few weeks later, although the cause had nothing to do with borage oil, the 3-6-9 supplement, or birth defects. Testing revealed that our fetus had been missing a 21 chromosome from the start and was never destined to survive. Prior to this, my husband and I had suffered two chemical miscarriages. Given this history, at the time of the pregnancy during which I had been on 3-6-9 supplements (as a non-SSRI treatment for depression), I was a ball of nerves about harming the baby and/or pregnancy. After this third loss, I began treatment for clinical levels of anxiety (with an SSRI) and took a full year off from trying to conceive. 

I am now 32 weeks pregnant with a healthy baby boy. I've remained on the SSRI (lexapro, which carries a higher (although still low) risk of birth defects than borage oil) throughout the pregnancy and have really focused on staying relaxed. Although it certainly was not a cause of my previous losses, the level of anxiety that I had about harming my baby prevented me from having as healthy of an experience during my previous pregnancies. If you can, take a deep breath and know that although nothing is certain in a pregnancy, you are doing all that you can to ensure the health of the baby.

Hope this information helps and best wishes!


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## Julia1984

Hi Sunnyct,

I can't tell you how much I appreciate your response and thank you so much for taking the time to reply to me in such detail. I have been so worried after reading all these alarming warnings on the internet but you really have put my mind at ease and I am so grateful to you. I am so sorry to hear about all that you've been through, my heart really goes out to you but I'm so thrilled to hear that you're now pregnant with a healthy baby boy, that's such wonderful news. I had no idea how stressful pregnancy could be, but you're right the best thing you can do is stay calm and be happy. Thank you again so much for everything and I wish you all the very best with your darling boy. Bless you :)


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