Effects of maternal Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation on neonatal birth anthropometry: A systematic review and meta-analysis

¹ Nutrition Science Program Study, Faculty of Medicine and Nutrition, IPB University, 16680 Bogor, Indonesia
² Departement of Nutrition, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universitas Esa Unggul, 11510 Jakarta, Indonesia

^1* Corresponding author: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Abstract

Maternal omega-3 fatty acids (DHA and EPA) are essential for fetal development. While omega-3 supplementation may enhance fetal growth, randomized controlled trial results on neonatal anthropometric measures are inconsistent. This meta-analysis evaluates the overall effect of maternal omega-3 supplementation on neonatal birth outcomes. This review followed PRISMA 2020 guidelines, including only RCTs comparing maternal omega-3 supplementation versus placebo. A systematic search across Scopus, The Cochrane Library, PubMed, and Google Scholar covered articles from January 2015 to October 2025. Meta-analysis used Review Manager (RevMan) 5.4 to calculate Mean Difference with 95% CI under a Fixed-Effect Model. Potential publication bias was assessed through funnel plots for each outcome. Nine RCTs were analysed in this study. Omega-3 supplementation resulted in a significant increase in birth weight. The pooled mean difference is 39.06 grams (95% CI: 4.83 to 73.30). However, no significant differences were found for birth length (MD 0.10; 95% CI [- 0.08, 0.28] and head circumference (MD 0.03; 95% CI [-0.10, 0.16]. Maternal omega-3 supplementation significantly increases neonatal birth weight but does not affect birth length or head circumference