title: Brief report: newborn behavior differs with decosahexaenoic acid levels in breast milk.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess whether natural variations in decosahexaenoic acid (DHA) levels in breast milk would relate to infant neurobehavioral outcomes at the newborn stage following equivocal findings on infant and toddler outcomes of exposure to DHA in formula and breast milk.
  
  
  METHODS
  Breast milk samples from N = 20 mothers were collected 9 days after delivery, while the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS) was administered on the infant. Milk samples were later analyzed for fatty acids, including DHA.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Pearson correlations revealed a positive association between DHA concentrations in breast milk and infants' scores on the NBAS Range of State cluster score, suggesting that DHA is related to the infant's superior ability to maintain optimal arousal.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that breast milk DHA is beneficial to the neonate's neurobehavioral functioning and call for investigative attention to DHA's role in potentiating optimized intellectual functioning at later stages of development. The findings may also be interpreted as supporting formula supplementation with DHA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas 79409-1162, USA. sybil.hart@ttu.edu
authors.forename: Sybil L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Hart
authors.forename: L Mallory
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Boylan
authors.forename: Sebrina R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Carroll
authors.forename: Yvette A
authors.initials: YA
authors.lastname: Musick
authors.forename: Connye
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kuratko
authors.forename: Barbara G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Border
authors.forename: Richard M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Lampe
mesh_terms: D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D018730:Infant Behavior; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000737:chemistry*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests
chemical_list: D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids