A simple finding made by doctors at Children’s Hospital Boston has apparently saved the life of 16 babies who developed severe health issues due to premature births:

Like most babies with his medical condition, Austin DuPonte of Hudson, MA was not expected to live long.

He was born prematurely and developed intestinal problems so severe that surgeries left him unable to absorb enough nourishment. Babies with bowel troubles can be fed intravenously, but most quickly develop liver problems. Without a costly liver transplant, — and sometimes even with one — these children usually don’t make it to their first birthday.

However, after fish oil treatment, the premature babies showed a miraculous improvement:

They swapped the IV feedings, giving the babies fluids with omega-3 fish oil instead of the standard plant oils, which contain omega-6s. Within weeks, the patients’ livers began to rebound, and they no longer needed transplants.

The baby’s mother attributes her son’s amazing recovery to fish oil:

Austin DuPonte’s mother Joanne said she believes her son would have died without the altered IV feeding, known as Omegaven. Within two weeks of starting Omegaven, Austin — who “had every single preemie thing you could have go wrong” — started to look better.

Source: How fish oil may have saved babies’ lives