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pregnant women are being urged to undergo

a simple test that

could reduce their chances of going into early labour

researchers have found those with low levels of Omega three

are at most risk

life's a tea party now for mum of two

beth clonel mardied was far from it when her youngest

camilla was born

we had one day's notice that we were having her

she was delivered premature at 33

weeks and as a result spent almost

two months in hospital

it's traumatic like there's something biological that

it just doesn't feel right

about leaving your newborn baby

but new research suggests some

families can be spared this pain

with a simple test

we discovered that

women who are low in omaga three fatty acids

are at high risk of having a premature baby

these studies also showed 18%

of women are depleted

either through their diets or genetics

so the hospital research foundation has paid

$500,000 to test omega three levels

in the standard first trimester screening

pregnant women just have to make sure their gp

takes the box

I don't actually think it was on

many of our radars

so it's really exciting that that link has been made

there's other things that affect preterm birth as well

but if we can eliminate one of the factors

relatively easily then we would have made a huge gain

doctors and scientists

interstate and even overseas in the us

uk and Canada are watching this research closely

because if it's successful

it could be a global game changer

if you can prevent all the stress and

uncertainty that comes with premature

birth with a fish oil supplement or a fish oil

it would be an amazing incredible

public health measure for sure

kimberly pratt seven news