Babies are less likely to suffer from croup if the mother takes fish oil during pregnancy, the study found

Babies and toddlers are less likely to develop croup if their mothers took fish oil and vitamin D supplements during pregnancy, according to research.

Croup is a viral chest infection that affects young children, causing symptoms such as a “barking” cough, hoarse voice, and difficulty breathing. While the illness is common and usually mild, some infected children require hospital treatment and respiratory support.

The researchers enrolled 736 pregnant women in a randomized controlled trial and divided them into four groups. They took varying doses – high or normal – of vitamin D supplements and either fish or olive oil every day from 24 weeks’ gestation until a week after giving birth.

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Researchers found children were less likely to develop viral breast infection croup if their mothers took fish oil and vitamin D supplements during pregnancy (stock image of fish oil capsules)

The team from Copenhagen University Hospital monitored the children until they were three years old, and all suspected of having croup were diagnosed by a doctor (Image: a University of Copenhagen research laboratory).

There were a total of 97 cases of croup among the children.

Overall, children whose mothers took fish oil had an 11 percent risk of croup, compared with 17 percent for the children whose mothers took olive oil.

Children whose mothers took high doses of vitamin D had an 11 percent risk of croup, compared with an 18 percent risk in children whose mothers took standard doses of vitamin D.

The results were presented by Dr. Nicklas Breastad at the International Congress of the European Respiratory Society in Barcelona. He said: “There is currently no vaccine against the pathogen that causes this disease. Our results suggest that vitamin D and fish oil in high enough doses may be beneficial against childhood croup.

“These are relatively cheap supplements, meaning this could be very cost-effective.”