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Why do Reproductive Immunology patients take Fish Oil?

A few of fish oil's cited benefits for Reproductive Immunology patients:

1. Decreases Natural Killer cell activity
2. Improves neural and cognitive development of the fetus in utero
3. Reduces risk of preterm delivery
4. Improves baby's birth weight
5. Reduces risk of pre-eclampsia
6. Reduces miscarriage risk in +APA patients
7. Possibly improves the quality of cycles
8. Possibly improves fertility
9. Reduces incidence of gestational diabetes
10. While breast feeding, dietary fish oil increases DHA content in
breast milk which can increase baby's IQ (in fact, many baby formulas now adding DHA)
11. Possibly increases serotonin levels
12. Lowers insulin levels
13. Reduces the incidence of depression
14. Inexpensive
15. Over-the-counter
16. Recommended by many Reproductive Immunologists

Here are some side effects reported from Reproductive Immunology patients:

1. Increased lining development/increased menstrual flow
2. Increased egg white cervical mucus at ovulation
3. "Stronger" ovulations (more definitive symptoms/more ovulation
pain)
4. Reduction of NK activity and number on the NK assay (some say
significant).
5. Increased fertility (ie. "surprise" pregnancies)

Why should I take vitamin E with my fish oil?

There are three reasons patients should take vitamin E with their fish oil:

1. Vitamin E is a strong antioxidant, so helps to balance fish oil's oxidizing effect.

2. Vitamin E may actually contribute to fish oil's immune modulating effect. So the vitamin E/fish oil combination may possibly help balance the immune system better than the fish oil taken alone.

3. Vitamin E has been shown to have beneficial effects on pregnancy independent of the fish oil (see references below)

As for dose, 100 I.U to 400 I.U per day is recommended . The natural d-alpha tocopherol form of vitamin E is preferred over the synthetic dl-alpha tocopherol form. The natural form better absorbed by the body.