Brief report: newborn behavior differs with decosahexaenoic acid levels in breast milk.
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.
Hart
Sybil L
SL
Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas 79409-1162, USA. sybil.hart@ttu.edu
Boylan
L Mallory
LM
Carroll
Sebrina R
SR
Musick
Yvette A
YA
Kuratko
Connye
C
Border
Barbara G
BG
Lampe
Richard M
RM
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
D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids