Why should supplement DHA for infants, premature babies?

This is an automatically translated article.

The article is professionally consulted by Master, Doctor Thai Bang - Faculty and Master's School, Doctor Nguyen Nhu Thu Truc - Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology - Vinmec Nha Trang International Hospital

DHA is essential for the comprehensive development of brain and eye function in young children. Therefore, DHA supplementation is always recommended in children, especially infants and premature babies.

1. What is DHA? The role of DHA in the development of the body

DHA is an acronym for Docosa-Hexaenoic-acid. It is an essential polyunsaturated fatty acid belonging to the group of Omega-3 fatty acids. It is the main component that makes up the human brain (accounting for 15-20%) and accounts for 50-60% of the structure of the retina of the eye. Because it is an important ingredient in comprehensively perfecting brain and retina function, DHA supplementation is always recommended in children.
In adults, DHA has the effect of reducing total cholesterol, blood triglycerides, and bad cholesterol in the blood. Helps reduce the risk of atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction.

2. Why should supplement DHA for infants and premature babies?

For infants and premature babies, it is necessary to supplement with enough DHA for the child's body. Because newborn babies are not able to convert DHA from vegetable oils or other breast milk substitutes to DHA.
For premature babies and infants under 6 months of age, the best way to supplement DHA is to exclusively breastfeed for the first 24 months. Because breast milk has enough DHA to provide for the comprehensive development of the baby.
DHA required for infants is 0.32% of the total fatty acids, equivalent to 17mg for 100 kcal is the best. According to WHO, pregnant and lactating mothers need to supplement with 200 mg of DHA per day to provide enough DHA for their babies.
For children who are not breastfed or whose mothers do not have enough milk for their children, it is necessary to supplement the amount of DHA through milk containing DHA.

3. How to supplement DHA for babies?

For children under 1 year old, the best way to supplement DHA for babies is to breastfeed exclusively from breast milk. In case the baby is not breastfed or breast milk is not enough, DHA must be supplemented from other nutritional sources such as milk made from DHA formula or breast milk substitutes with added fatty acids.
Fish oil, fish and seafood are foods that contain a lot of DHA to meet the required amount of DHA for the comprehensive development of the brain and retina of the eyes. Therefore, you should add fish and other seafood to your baby's daily meals.
For children from 1 to 6 years old, this is a very necessary period of DHA, because DHA plays an important role in the process of stimulating brain development. In addition, DHA also helps children improve heart health. Therefore, parents should give their children a variety of foods containing DHA so that children can develop in the best way.
Children from 6 years old and above are the time to start learning, the child's brain needs a lot of activity to absorb new knowledge. To enhance memory, information processing ability and high concentration when learning for children. Parents need to regularly supplement the necessary DHA for their children.
Supplementing DHA for children through daily food is the best way. In addition, parents can supplement DHA for their children with other functional foods. Or supplement DHA from vitamin gummies to ensure food safety.

4. Supplementing DHA for children at what time of the day is the best?

Supplementing DHA for children in the morning: When the baby wakes up in the morning, the baby's body is most refreshed and healthy. It is the right time to create healthy habits for your baby, including supplementing DHA through nutritional sources. The morning snacks for babies contain a lot of fat, such as eggs, butter, milk, fish, olive oil... These are good foods for DHA absorption.

Supplementing DHA in the evening: According to British research, taking DHA at night will help both pregnant women and young children have a deeper and better sleep. Supplementing the required amount of DHA in the evening will help the body have a positive energy source for a new day. Above is information about the importance of DHA for the comprehensive development of children, and how to DHA supplement for babies. If you still have any questions, please leave your information or contact the hotline 0243 9743 556 for timely support and advice. Newborns, especially premature babies, are prone to respiratory diseases. respiratory infections and gastrointestinal infections if the baby eats solid foods early or the storage and preparation of milk is not guaranteed. To protect children's health, parents should do well to exclusively breastfeed their babies for the first 6 months (if possible) and vaccinate on schedule. As soon as a child shows symptoms such as anorexia, fatigue, and crying, the child needs to go to the hospital to be consulted by a specialist for monitoring and treatment. The pediatric department at Vinmec International General Hospital is the address for receiving and examining diseases that infants and young children are susceptible to: viral fever, bacterial fever, otitis media, pneumonia in children. With a system of facilities, modern medical equipment, sterile space, minimizing the impact as well as the risk of disease spread, Vinmec will bring satisfaction to customers. and is highly appreciated by industry experts with:
Gathering a team of leading pediatricians: including leading experts with high professional qualifications (professors, associate professors, doctors, Master's degree), experienced, worked at major hospitals such as Bach Mai, 108.. The doctors are all well-trained, professional, conscientious, knowledgeable about young psychology. In addition to domestic pediatric specialists, the Department of Pediatrics also has the participation of foreign experts (Japan, Singapore, Australia, USA) who are always pioneers in applying the latest and most effective treatment regimens. . Comprehensive services: In the field of Pediatrics, Vinmec provides a series of continuous medical examination and treatment services from Newborn to Pediatric and Vaccine,... according to international standards to help parents take care of their baby's health from birth to childhood. Advanced techniques: Vinmec has successfully deployed many specialized techniques to make the treatment of difficult diseases in Pediatrics more effective: neurosurgery - skull surgery, stem cell transplantation blood in cancer treatment. Professional care: In addition to understanding children's psychology, Vinmec also pays special attention to the children's play space, helping them to play comfortably and get used to the hospital's environment, cooperate in treatment, improve the efficiency of medical treatment.

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