Because n-3 fatty acids (including DHA) accrue in the fetal tissues primarily during the last trimester of pregnancy, adequate maternal intake of these nutrients during this stage is critical for both pre- and postnatal brain development. In this study, 17 healthy pregnant women were enrolled on admission to a hospital maternity ward, and maternal venous blood samples were collected at delivery. The women were divided into a high-DHA and a low-DHA group according to their plasma DHA concentrations.
Assessments of the newborn infants' sleep patterns during their first two days of life were made using a Motility Monitoring System, consisting of a capacitance-type sensor pad placed under the sheet or mattress pad in the infant's crib. The pad is connected to an amplifier that records signals of the infant's respiration and body movements during sleep cycles. Infants of mothers in the high-DHA group demonstrated more mature sleep patterns, characterized by a lower ratio of active to quiet sleep, significantly less sleep-wake transition time, and more wakefulness than infants whose mothers were in the low-DHA group.1 In previous studies, sleep patterns similar to those found in the high-DHA infant group were related to more mature CNS development, and breastfed infants--who receive DHA in their mother's milk-- also had more mature neurological development than did formula-fed infants.
DHA is most commonly found in cold-water fish, in fish oils, and in supplements. Mothers in the low-DHA group in the study tended to be younger, less educated, and more often non-Caucasian , suggesting that maternal education on the benefits of prenatal nutrition with n-3 fatty acids ought to be extended to this generation of new mothers.
Cheruku, Sunita et al. Higher maternal plasma docosahexaenoic acid during pregnancy is associated with more mature neonatal sleep-state patterning. Am J Clin Nutr 2002;76:608-13.
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American Journal of Clinical Nutrition