DHA supplementation of breastfeeding women.

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is a fatty acid that is found in fish. Humans make some DHA from linolenic acid, a fatty acid found mainly in flaxseed and flaxseed oil and in lesser amounts in soybeans, canola oil, and walnuts. DHA appears to play a role in brain development and in vision in infants and is added to some infant formulas. The DHA level of breastmilk reflects the mother's DHA intake, with vegetarian women having lower milk DHA levels than non-vegetarian women. A vegan DHA supplement derived from microalgae has been developed. (See Vegetarian Journal, Issue 3, 2005.) USDA researchers examined whether use of a DHA supplement by breastfeeding women would affect their infants' development. Study subjects were divided into two groups. One group received capsules containing DHA derived from microalgae; the other group's capsules contained soy and corn oils. Subjects took their capsules daily for four months after their babies' births. As expected, levels of DHA in breastmilk were higher in the group taking DHA supplements, and infants of women taking DHA supplements had higher levels of DHA in their blood. DHA supplementation of breastfeeding women did not affect their infants' vision. Infants whose mothers took DHA supplements did score higher on one developmental test at 30 months of age but did not have higher scores on other tests or at other ages. These results suggest that increased DHA may be of some benefit to breastfed infants, although the benefit may be small.

Jensen CL, Voigt RG, Prager TC, et al. 2005. Effects of maternal docosahexaenoic acid on visual function and neurodevelopment in breastfed term infants. Am J Clin Nutr 82:125-32.