The Concentration of Docosahexaenoic Acid ( DHA ) and Arachidonic Acid ( AA ) in Human Milk Is Associated With the Size of Maternal Social Network
Bibliographic Data
INTRODUCTION: Social factors, such as kin and non-kin support in helping the mother of a newborn baby, impact the duration of lactation and may affect human milk composition. Recent studies suggest that maternal stress negatively affects the level of polyunsaturated fatty acids in human milk, which are crucial for infant vision and brain development. We suggest that social support may have the potential to attenuate a negative effect of stress on the composition of human milk fatty acids. METHODS: We studied 129 exclusively breastfeeding mothers and their healthy, term infants to explore the relationship between support from significant others (structural and functional) and the concentration of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, N = 49) and arachidonic acid (AA, N = 129) in human milk. We also examined whether maternal stress reactivity (log Cort. AUC) may be related to these fatty acids. Gas chromatography was used to analyze the concentration of DHA and AA in human milk samples. RESULTS: Analyses revealed a positive association between the number of helpers (structural support) and the concentration of DHA and AA. Maternal stress reactivity was not a statistically significant predictor of DHA and AA contents in milk and was unrelated to the number of helpers. CONCLUSION: Our results show for the first time that human milk composition, particularly DHA and AA concentrations, may be associated with the size of mothers' immediate social network of kin and non-kin helpers. This result is consistent with evolutionary studies that emphasize the role of cooperative breeding in human reproduction
Arachidonic acid · Docosahexaenoic acid · Eicosapentaenoic acid · Fatty acid · Polyunsaturated fatty acid · Breastfeeding Practices and Influences · Chemistry · Fatty Acid Research and Health · Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior · Biochemistry · Food Science
Relationship between stress, eating behavior, and obesity
Predictors of Breastfeeding Duration
Human Milk Composition
Hair cortisol, stress exposure, and mental health in humans
First‐time mothers
Social support and oxytocin interact to suppress cortisol and subjective responses to psychosocial stress
Salivary cortisol in psychoneuroendocrine research
Soziale Unterstützung bei der Krankheitsbewältigung
Measuring the Functional Components of Social Support
Social Relationships and Mortality Risk
Grandmothers — a neglected family resource for saving newborn lives
Predictors of breast milk macronutrient composition in filipino mothers
Field and laboratory methods in human milk research
Predictors of milk cortisol in North American women
Dynamics of human milk nutrient composition of women from singapore with a special focus on lipids
Persistent High Cortisol Responses to Repeated Psychological Stress in a Subpopulation of Healthy Men
Sex-Specific Effects of Social Support on Cortisol and Subjective Responses to Acute Psychological Stress
Cooperative breeding and maternal energy expenditure among aka foragers
Infant sex predicts breast milk energy content
Breastfeeding and the origins of health
Neural bases of moderation of cortisol stress responses by psychosocial resources
Father Involvement With Young Children Among the Aka and Bofi Foragers
How Much Does Family Matter? Cooperative Breeding and the Demographic Transition
Conceptual, Methodological, and Theoretical Problems in Studying Social Support as a Buffer Against Life Stress
Cooperative Breeding and its Significance to the Demographic Success of Humans
Social support, stress, and maternal postpartum depression
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |