Higher DHA Status in Maternal Cord Blood and Improved Measures of Infant Development

The present study assessed the relationship of DHA omega-3 levels in the cord blood plasma (phospholipid biomarker) and various measures of infant development in 109 Inuit infants in Arctic Quebec. The blood samples were taken from the umbilical cord after it was severed. The results indicated that higher DHA concentrations in cord blood samples were associated with longer gestation, better visual acuity, better novelty preference on the Fagan test at 6 months, and better Bayley Scale mental and psychomotor performance at 11 months. The authors conclude that their findings are ‘consistent with the need for substantial increases in this critically important fatty acid during the third semester spurt of synaptogenesis in brain and photoreceptor development’.