“We see a clear connection between mother’s omega-3 status and the children’s ability to solve problems, and we see the same effect at the children’s level of the fatty acid when they are three months,” says researcher Maria Wik Markhus.
In a study in 32 pregnant women, the researchers measured the level of omega-3 fatty acid DHA in the blood of gestational week 28. Then they looked at the children’s ability to solve one-year tasks, using a test that their parents filled out. The higher the level of the DHA mothers, the higher the children cut the test.
In addition, the researchers measured the children’s level of DHA when they were three, six and twelve months old. Although the study is small in scale, it gives important results.