Association between fat content of breast milk and maternal nutritional status and infants' weight in Tabriz, Iran

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between breast milk fat content with maternal anthropometric status, energy and macronutrient intake and weight for age Z-score of exclusively breastfed infants. Breast milk samples and information on energy and macronutrients intake (using 24-hour recall method for 3 days) were collected from 182 lactating women. Weight and height of mothers and infants were measured and the body mass index (BMI) and weight for age Z-score (WAZ) were calculated. The fat content of the milk samples was measured by the Gerber method. The mean daily energy intake was 2390 آ± 405 kcal which was lower than the recommended values for mothers. The mean fat content of the milk samples was 3.52 آ± 1.41 g/dl, which was significantly associated with dietary carbohydrate consumption (?= 0.39, P<0.004) and BMI (?= 0.28, P<0.02). A significant association between the WAZ of infants and maternal BMI (?= 0.36, P<0.001) was recorded. The WAZ of infants whose mothers' breast milk lipid content was more than 3 g/dl was significantly higher than those whose mothers had lower breast milk lipid content (P<0.031). Further studies need to be done on the effect of fat content of breast milk on infant's weight and how maternal factors regulate the composition of breast milk.