Is DHA necessary during pregnancy and while breastfeeding for adequate cognitive development?
Jacobsen et al. 200869 examined the relationship between cord plasma docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) concentration, gestation length, birth size, growth, infant visual acuity, cognitive, and motor development and also looked at the effects on growth and development associated with DHA intake from breast-feeding. After controlling for contaminant exposure and other potential confounders, higher cord DHA concentration was associated with longer gestation, better visual acuity and novelty preference at six months, and better mental and psychomotor performance at 11 months. By contrast, DHA from breast-feeding was not related to any indicator of cognitive or motor development in this full-term sample. Their association of higher cord DHA concentration with more optimal visual, cognitive, and motor development is consistent with the need for substantial increases in this critically important fatty acid during the third trimester spurt of synaptogenesis in brain and photoreceptor development. Sev
