Abstract
Fetuses and breastfed children depend on the maternal docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) supply, which might have long-lasting consequences. We studied the growth of 6-year-old children whose mothers received supplemental DHA from midpregnancy to 3 months after delivery. One hundred and forty-four pregnant women had been randomized to receive one of three vitamin-mineral supplements, one supplying an additional 200 mg/day DHA. Of the original sample, 120 children were measured at age 6 years with standardized methods. As one objective of the follow-up was to investigate the DHA influence on normal growth, the DHA group was compared with the pooled controls after exclusion of five premature infants. The weight, length, body mass index (BMI), head circumference, and skin-fold thickness at 6 years were similar in the 41 children of the DHA group and the 74 controls. Longitudinally, the BMI z-scores of the DHA group increased up at a later age than that of the controls. We found a highly significant negative correlation between height at 6 years and the increase in red blood cell DHA concentration of mothers from 22 to 37 weeks of pregnancy. We conclude that DHA supplements during midpregnancy corrected a low maternal DHA status (which correlated with children’s height) and was favorable in regard to the BMI development up to 6 years.
©2012 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston
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- Congress Calendar
- Congress Calendar
- WAPM Newsletter
- WAPM Newsletter
Articles in the same Issue
- Masthead
- Masthead
- Original Articles – Obstetrics
- Vaginal progesterone to prevent preterm birth in multiple pregnancy: a randomized controlled trial
- Association of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein serum levels in early pregnancy with the severity of preeclampsia and fetal birth weight
- High-fidelity simulation increases obstetric self-assurance and skills in undergraduate medical students
- Resident consultant presence in labour ward after midnight – a retrospective cohort study of 5318 deliveries
- Carboxyhemoglobin levels in umbilical cord blood of women with pre-eclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction
- Labour epidural analgesia and anti-infectious management of the neonate: a meta-analysis
- What about ST waveform analysis signal quality in the second stage of labor? A case-control study
- A curriculum to teach and evaluate resident skills in the management of postpartum hemorrhage
- Placental transfer of clarithromycin in human pregnancies with preterm premature rupture of membranes
- Stepwise sequential screening for Down’s syndrome (combined test associated with modified genetic sonography) in pregnant women with low risk for chromosomal disorders
- Original Articles – Fetus
- Mode of anaesthesia on fetal acid-base status at caesarean section
- Development of integrative autonomic nervous system function: an investigation based on time correlation in fetal heart rate patterns
- Original Articles – Newborn
- Guttus, tiralatte and téterelle: a history of breast pumps
- 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
- The evolution of risk factors for respiratory syncytial virus-related hospitalisation in infants born at 32–35 weeks’ gestational age: time-based analysis using data from the FLIP-2 study
- Short Communications
- Low placental weight and risk for fetal distress at birth
- Electrical pacemaker as a safe and feasible method for decreasing the uterine contractions of human preterm labor
- Congress Calendar
- Congress Calendar
- WAPM Newsletter
- WAPM Newsletter