Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is an essential fatty acid. Among other functions, essential fatty acids regulate body temperature and help the body to transport and metabolize fat. Essential fatty acids are critical to the body's normal growth and functioning—and studies show that DHA, in particular, may play an important role in your infant's healthy development. While DHA occurs naturally in breast milk, it is generally absent from infant formulas sold in the United States. However, Europeans have been supplementing infant formulas with essential fatty acids like DHA for years, and it may be wise for Americans to take notice. Studies have shown that supplementing infant formula with DHA may be a very smart move.

DHA may enhance your child's mental development

A recent study showed that the addition of DHA and arachidonic acid (AA), another essential fatty acid, to infant formula can improve a baby's mental development. In this study, 56 infants were divided into three groups within 5 days of birth. Over the next 17 weeks, the first group received formula supplemented with DHA, the second, formula supplemented with DHA and AA, and the third, straight formula. At 18 months of age, the group that had received formula containing both DHA and AA had better memory, simple problem solving abilities, and language capabilities. The evidence from this study as well as previous studies indicates that fatty acids like DHA and AA aid an infant's mental development.

DHA may enhance your preterm infant's vision

Another recent report indicated that DHA-supplemented formula may improve the eyesight of preterm infants. Researchers evaluated several studies that examined the effects of DHA and other essential fatty acids on the visual development of healthy preterm infants. They concluded that DHA supplementation made a significant difference in the early development of an infant's visual systems. However, it was also noted that larger, long-term studies are needed to validate this conclusion.

While the evidence for DHA-supplemented formula may appear compelling, be sure to talk to your pediatrician about your baby's individual needs before making any changes to his or her diet.

Birch EE, Garfield S, Hoffman DR, Uauy R, Birch DG. A randomized controlled trial of early dietary supply of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids and mental development in term infants. Dev Med Child Neurol. 2000;42(3):174-181. Accessed at http://www.cup.cam.ac.uk/journals/dmc/birch.pdf on April 20, 2000.

SanGiovanni JP, Parra-Cabrera S, Colditz GA, Berkey CS, Dwyer JT. Meta-analysis of dietary essential fatty acids and long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids as they relate to visual resolution acuity in healthy preterm infants. Pediatrics. 2000;105(6):1292-1298.

Willatts P, Forsyth JS, DiModugno MK, Varma S, Colvin M. Effects of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in infant formula on problem solving at 10 months of age. Lancet. 1998;352(9129):688-691.