Baby growth is not trivial. Problems always come one after another, just like what formula milk to drink. This is always a hot topic and has always been the most talked about and easily entangled thing for mothers. Regarding the baby’s nutrition, today we will focus on which stage DHA should be supplemented? And how to supplement it? Let’s study it together.
The role of DHA?
DHA is an important component of the fetal brain. Therefore, it plays an important role in retina and brain function.
Breast milk is the first to contain DHA. If the baby’s nutrition needs can be met from breast milk, there is no need to supplement it.dha algal oil powder Excessive intake is not good for the baby. Secondly, formula milk also contains DHA, which is required to be added, and there is a specified amount of addition, which makes the formula milk powder different in terms of DHA content; if you drink formula milk, you must also know that DHA cannot be used as the only criterion for selecting milk powder. You must consider all aspects and it is fine if it is suitable for your baby.
Do you need to supplement DHA?
1. Babies after 6 months
No additional DHA supplement is needed for the first 6 months of breastfeeding. As long as the mother consumes more DHA-containing foods on a regular basis, the DHA content in breast milk can be guaranteed. After 6 months, the baby’s growth and development demand for quantity increases, and the breast milk content is insufficient to meet it. The baby’s complementary food source is limited, so DHA needs to be supplemented appropriately.
2. Premature babies and low-weight babies
Premature babies are born before 36 weeks. In order to supplement insufficient nutrition; babies weighing less than 2500g at birth are low-weight babies. In order to catch up with normal weight. Both are due to insufficient DHA accumulation in the mother’s body and immature development of important parts (brain and retina). Breast milk alone cannot meet the needs and requires additional supplements.
3. No breast milk, drink milk powder
When breastfeeding is impossible for various reasons and breast milk is insufficient, it is possible to obtain it from formula milk powder to meet the baby’s necessary nutrition, of which the DHA content is 0.2~0.5% of the total fat.
Types of DHA supplements
There are two common DHA supplements, fish oil DHA and algae oil DHA. Algae oil is extracted from pure plants, while fish oil is extracted from fish that eat seaweed containing DHA. The extraction is more complicated than that of algae oil.
If the amount of DHA taken from food is not enough, supplements are needed to supplement DHA; babies who drink formula milk containing DHA can refer to the standards for the amount of added infant formula milk powder. If it cannot be met, supplements are used. If the formula does not contain DHA, it is recommended to choose a supplement with a unit dose of 100mg.
The amount of DHA supplement can refer to the previous figure, or ask the doctor whether the baby needs additional DHA. It is more reasonable to take moderate nutrients and not over-supplement.