Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an omega-3 fatty acid found in breast milk, has many health benefits for both mother and baby.
Yes, after delivery a mother's level of DHA can remain low as breastfeeding transmits her reserves of DHA to the breast milk for the baby. The need for DHA remains critical for your new baby through two years of age as brain development continues through this time.
Babies, however, generate the fatty acids such as ARA and DHA more slowly than adults and thus need to get some via diet (i.e., breastmilk). In addition, there is evidence that adults eating a typical American diet do not get a large enough percentage of the Omega-3 fatty acids.
However, if a woman's breastmilk DHA is low, the good news is it can be corrected by adding more fatty fish (e.g., salmon, tuna, mussels) or omega-3 EPA and DHA supplements to to their diet.
Infants of mothers with adequate nutritional status have reserves of some nutrients at birth, but they depend entirely on breast milk for other nutrients. Even in mothers who are well nourished, other physiologic or environmental factors may compromise status and capacity to transfer nutrients via breast milk.
Breast milk alone does not provide infants with an adequate amount of vitamin D. Shortly after birth, most infants will need an additional source of vitamin D.
Overall, human breast milk has been found to be low in certain nutrients in developed countries: vitamin D, iodine, iron, and vitamin K. Additional nutrient deficiencies have been documented in resource-poor countries: vitamin A, vitamin B 12, zinc, and vitamin B 1/thiamin.
Babies get their DHA from breast milk and/or formula, and from complementary foods once they have reached the appropriate age to introduce solid foods into their diet. If you're breastfeeding, chat with your doctor about how you can incorporate more DHA into your diet.
Fat content of human milk is relatively constant as it is synthesised in the breast. Fat content during a feed is determined by the fullness of the breast. Fat content increases gradually as the breast becomes emptier, as fat globules are “forced” out of the breast by successive milk ejections.
In fact, there is some research that indicates that even as little as 50 ml of breastmilk per day may help prevent disease in breastfed babies. Additionally, our body recognizes the importance of this protection and increases the concentration of SigA as our milk supply begins to decrease.
“DHA-rich food sources include human milk, cold water fatty fishes such as salmon, tuna, sardines and mackerel. Other sources include seafood like oysters and shrimps,” says Jasly Koo, Dietitian, from the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics at KK Women's and Children's Hospital, a member of the SingHealth group.
A meta-analysis based on studies published between 1986 and 2006 reported that the estimated worldwide average (WWA) level of DHA in human milk was a mean of 0.32 ± 0.22% with a wide range of 0.06 to 1.4% of total fatty acids [10].
DHA is naturally found in the breast milk of mothers who eat fish, eggs, and red meat. It is critical for the growth and development of your baby's brain and nervous system, especially since your baby's brain grows very quickly in his first year of life and triples in size by his first birthday.
Most experts recommend that breastfeeding moms consume DHA every day. If you aren't eating 8-12 ounces of fatty fish each week, consider adding a high-quality lactation supplement with DHA to your daily routine.
Babies get DHA in the womb. After birth, breastfed babies get DHA from their mother's breast milk. Many scientists believe that DHA is most important during the last trimester of your pregnancy through your child's second year. This is when their brain and eyes rapidly develop.
Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is an omega-3 fatty acid found in cold-water, fatty fish, such as salmon. It is also found in fish oil supplements, along with eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). Vegetarian sources of DHA come from seaweed. Omega-3 fatty acids are good for your heart, and your body needs DHA for a healthy brain.
Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is essential for the growth and functional development of the brain in infants. DHA is also required for maintenance of normal brain function in adults. The inclusion of plentiful DHA in the diet improves learning ability, whereas deficiencies of DHA are associated with deficits in learning.
You make more watery or thirst quenching milk in the morning, and less volume but fattier milk in the evening. This is why your baby may want to cluster feed or fuss feed in the evenings. Your milk producing hormone prolactin is highest in the middle of the night.
The amount of fat in human milk changes dramatically during each feeding and throughout the day, since fat content depends on the degree of emptyness of the breast (empty breast = high fat, full breast = low fat).
With appropriate vitamin D intake, the lactating mother can fully transfer from her blood to her milk the vitamin D required to sustain optimal vitamin D nutrition in the nursing infant with no additional supplementation required for the infant.
The nutritional stores of a lactating woman may be more or less depleted as a result of the pregnancy and the loss of blood during childbirth. Lactation raises nutrient needs, mainly because of the loss of nutrients, first through colostrum and then through breastmilk.
Increasing milk supply
By offering the other breast when the first is finished, and repeating breast compressions if needed, your baby will get the correct balance of foremilk and hindmilk automatically. Using both breasts when needed (and sometimes three or four!) will drive up and maintain your supply.