DHA is the critical component of cell membranes in the brain and retina, where it is involved in visual and neural function as well as neurotransmitter metabolism.8 The accumulation of DHA begins in utero and is derived predominantly through placental transfer
Lactating women who received 200 mg of DHA per day for 4 months had infants who performed significantly better on the Bayley Psychomotor Development Index after 30 months compared with women who received a vegetable oil.
Both pretreatment with DHA and treatment with DHA reduce the degree of functional deficits after a hypoxic-ischemic injury. Because hypoxic ischemic injury complicates 2 to 9 births per thousand and may be responsible for up to 14% of all cases of cerebral palsy.