Growth to Age 18 Months Following Prenatal Supplementation with Docosahexaenoic Acid Differs by Maternal Gravidity in Mexico

Abstract

Little is known about the long-term effects of DHA intake during pregnancy. Offspring of primagravid Mexican women who received 400 mg/d DHA from wk 20 of gestation through delivery were heavier and had larger head circumferences at birth than children whose mothers received placebo; no effect was observed in offspring of multigravidae. We have followed these children (n = 739; 76% of the birth cohort), measuring length, weight, and head circumference at 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, and 18 mo. At 18 mo, intent-to-treat differences between placebo and DHA, adjusted for maternal height and child sex and age at measurement, were: length, -0.21 cm (95% CI = -0.58, 0.15); weight, -0.03 kg (95% CI =-0.19, 0.13); and head circumference, 0.02 cm (95% CI = -0.18, 0.21) (all P > 0.05). There was heterogeneity of associations by maternal gravidity for weight (P < 0.08), length (P < 0.02), and head circumference (P < 0.05). Among offspring of primagravid women, length at 18 mo was increased by 0.72 cm (95% CI = 0.11, 1.33) following DHA supplementation, representing 0.26 length-for-age Z-score units; among offspring of multigravidae, the estimate was -0.13 cm (95% CI = -0.59, 0.32) (P > 0.5). Maternal DHA supplementation during the second half of gestation may enhance growth through 18 mo of children born to primagravid women.

Does docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) status in pregnancy have any impact on postnatal growth? Six-year follow-up of a prospective randomized double-blind monocenter study on low-dose DHA supplements

“…In the Viva study, a lower prevalence of obesity was found at 3 years in children whose mothers had a higher fi sh intake during pregnancy (and a better ω 3 status at birth), whereas in a preceding publication, a lower birth weight for gestational age was reported if mothers had a high fi sh intake in pregnancy [15,38] . In the Mexican study, 18-month-old children of primigravid mothers who had received DHA supplements in pregnancy were longer but not slimmer, although at birth, they were observed to have a higher weight and head circumference [43,46] . Clearly, the settings were different in all these studies, as well as population background, habitual diets, supplementation, and observation periods; even the sources, compositions, and doses of the supplements varied greatly.…”

Biological Mechanisms for Nutritional Regulation of Maternal Health and Fetal Development

“… c EAA that cannot be synthesised by mother and fetus are histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine; amino acids that are inadequately synthesised by gestating mother and her fetus include arginine and glutamine; NEAA that can be synthesised presumably in adequate amounts by mother and fetus include alanine, asparagine, aspartate, cysteine, glutamate, glycine, proline, serine, taurine, and tyrosine 28,29 …”

El efecto de omega 3 en la salud humana y consideraciones en la ingesta

“…Niños de madres que fueron suplementadas con omega 3 durante el embarazo, presentaron mayor coordinación y memoria comparados con niños de madres sin suplementar ante pruebas de habilidades cognitivas (memoria y coordinación) (26). Un estudio en niños mexicanos demostró que los hijos de madres primerizas suplementadas con 400 mg/día de DHA a las 20 semanas de gestación tuvieron neonatos más grandes y con mayor circunferencia de cabeza que las madres no suplementadas (27). También se ha demostrado que el consumo de estos ácidos grasos tiene efectos benéfi cos en funciones motoras y de aprendizaje, mejora de la agudeza visual, así como la prevención de alergias y enfermedades autoinmunes.…”