Rees, Alison and Sirois, Sylvain and Wearden, Alison (2014) Maternal docosahexaenoic acid intake levels during pregnancy and infant performance on a novel object search task at 22 months. Child Development, 85 (6). pp. 2131-2139. ISSN 0009-3920
Rees_et_al_2014_Child_Development.pdf - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.
Download (203kB)
Abstract
This study investigated maternal prenatal docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) intake and infant cognitive development at 22 months. Estimates for second- and third-trimester maternal DHA intake levels were obtained using a comprehensive Food Frequency Questionnaire. Infants (n = 67) were assessed at 22 months on a novel object search task. Mothers' DHA intake levels were divided into high or low groups, with analyses revealing a significant positive effect of third-trimester DHA on object search task performance. The third trimester appears to be a critical time for ensuring adequate maternal DHA levels to facilitate optimum cognitive development in late infancy.