DHA taken during pregnancy may boost infant problem-solving skills

If you're an expecting mother, you may be interested in a new study out of the University of Connecticut and Louisiana State University on the potential benefits of supplementing with DHA during pregnancy. According to the findings of the study, which were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, consuming DHA (a naturally-occurring fatty acid derived from fish oil) while carrying may boost an infant's problem-solving skills during the first year of life.

In the study, 29 pregnant women were randomly assigned to one of two groups: Group A - who were given cereal-based snack bars that contained 300mg of DHA, and Group B - who were given cereal-based snack bars that did not contain the fatty acid. On average, the mothers ate five cereal bars per week.

After the babies of mothers from both groups were born, their intelligence and problem-solving skills were tested nine months later by the researchers. The infants born to the mothers who at the DHA-fortified cereal bars demonstrated signs of possessing better problem-solving skills.