Supplementation with n‐3 docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) during pregnancy increases DHA in human milk in women.

Human milk provides the fatty acids needed for growth and development of the breast-fed infant, as well as essential n-3 fatty acids needed for central nervous system development. Previous studies have suggested about 50% of milk fatty acids are derived from maternal tissues, and an association between maternal docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3) supplementation and infant neural development has been reported. We determined the effect of maternal DHA supplementation in gestation on human milk fatty acids. Pregnant women, n=50, were given 400mg/day DHA or a vegetable oil placebo from 16 to 36 wk gestation. Maternal RBC phosphatidylethanolamine (RBC PE) fatty acids were determined at 16 and 36 wk gestation, and milk fatty acids were determined at 1 and 2 mth postpartum. DHA supplementation resulted in a significant increase in maternal RBC PE DHA, and lower 22:5n-6, 22:4n-6 and 22:5n-3, but no change in arachidonic acid (ARA, 20:4n-6). Human milk levels of DHA were significantly higher in women who received DHA compared to the placebo during gestation; the increase in DHA was associated with lower milk oleic acid (18:1), with no significant change in other n-6 or n-3 fatty acids. Our results suggest maternal n-3 fatty acid nutrition during gestation is important to human development, both through effects in gestation and through supporting later higher DHA in human milk. Supported by Canadian Institute for Health Research