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Health News Archive 434 - Children's Development
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DHA in Mother's Milk Increases Infant Psychomotor Skills

The double-blind, placebo-controlled study, conducted at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX, involved 227 nursing women.  The mothers were given a 200 mg capsule of (Martek) DHA or placebo daily for 4 months, beginning 5 days after delivery.  DHA and EPA are the two major components of omega-3 fatty acids.  At 2 1/2 years of age, 160 of the children were tested for psychomotor development. 

The children of DHA-supplemented mothers scored significantly higher on the Bayley Psychomotor Development Index (PDI), when compared to the children of the non-supplemented mothers.  The Bayley PDI assesses fine and gross motor skills such as hand-eye coordination in infants and children. 

The study also confirmed that DHA supplementation while nursing effectively increases DHA levels in the mother's milk, as well as in the infant's blood.  The moms supplemented with DHA had 74% more DHA in their breast milk than the control group and their infants had 35% higher DHA blood levels than the control group infants.

Source: Am J Clin Nutr, July 2005;82:125-32.

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