Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-ndw9j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T16:15:38.595Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Variation in fat, lactose and protein in human milk over 24h and throughout the first year of lactation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

Leon R. Mitoulas ,
Jacqueline C. Kent ,
David B. Cox ,
Robyn A. Owens ,
Jillian L. Sherriff  and
Peter E. Hartmann
Leon R. Mitoulas*
Affiliation:
Departments of Biochemistry, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley WA 6009, Australia
Jacqueline C. Kent
Affiliation:
Departments of Biochemistry, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley WA 6009, Australia
David B. Cox
Affiliation:
Departments of Biochemistry, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley WA 6009, Australia
Robyn A. Owens
Affiliation:
Department of Computer Science, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley WA 6009, Australia
Jillian L. Sherriff
Affiliation:
School of Public Health, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth WA 6845, Australia
Peter E. Hartmann
Affiliation:
Departments of Biochemistry, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley WA 6009, Australia
*
*Corresponding author:Leon R. Mitoulas, fax +61 8 9380 1148, email Leon.Mitoulas@uwa.edu.au
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Fat in human milk is extremely variable and can represent up to 50 % of infant energy intake. To accurately determine milk composition and infant intake at 1 (n 17), 2 (n 17), 4 (n 17), 6 (n 15), 9 (n 6) and 12 (n 5) months of lactation, samples of fore- and hind-milk were collected from each breast at each feed over 24 h periods from an initial group of seventeen women. The content of fat in milk varied over 24 h, with a mean CV of 47·6 (SE 2·1) % (N 76) AND 46·7 (se 1·7) % (n 76) for left and right breasts respectively. The 24 h amounts of fat, lactose and protein in milk differed between women (P=0·0001), but were consistent between left and right breasts. Daily milk production differed between breasts (P=0·0001) and women (P=0·0001). Accordingly, amounts of fat (P=0·0008), lactose (P=0·0385) and protein (P=0·0173) delivered to the infant over 24 h also differed between breasts and women (P=0·0001). The energy content of milk and the amount of energy delivered to the infant over 24 h were the same between breasts, but differed between women (P=0·0001). The growth rate of a group of only six infants in the present study was not related to either the concentrations or amounts of fat, lactose, protein and energy in milk over the first 6 months of life. These results show the individuality of milk composition and suggest that only a rigorous sampling routine that takes into account all levels of variation will allow the accurate determination of infant intake of fat, lactose, protein and energy.

Keywords

Milk fatInfant intakeSampling routineHuman lactation
Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 88 , Issue 1 , July 2002 , pp. 29 - 37
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 2002

References

Allen, JC, Keller, RP, Archer, P & Neville, MC (1991) Studies in human lactation: milk composition and daily secretion rates of macronutrients in the first year of lactation. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 54, 69–80.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Arthur, PG, Hartmann, PE & Smith, M (1987) Measurement of the milk intake of breast-fed infants. Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition 6, 758–763.Google Scholar
Arthur, PG, Smith, M & Hartmann, PE (1989) Milk lactose, citrate, and glucose as markers of lactogenesis in normal and diabetic women. Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition 9, 488–496.Google ScholarPubMed
Atwood, CS & Hartmann, PE (1992) Collection of fore and hind milk from the sow and the changes in milk composition during suckling. Journal of Dairy Research 59, 287–298.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bauman, DE & Currie, WB (1980) Partitioning of nutrients during pregnancy and lactation: a review of mechanisms involving homeostasis and homeorhesis. Journal of Dairy Science 63, 1514–1529.Google Scholar
Bitman, J, Wood, L, Hamosh, M, Hamosh, P & Mehta, NR (1983) Comparison of the lipid composition of breast milk from mothers of term and preterm infants. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 38, 300–312.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Butte, NF, Garza, C, Smith, EO & Nichols, BL (1984) Human milk intake and growth in exclusively breast-fed infants. Journal of Pediatrics 104, 187–195.Google Scholar
Cox, DB, Kent, JC, Casey, TM, Owens, RA & Hartmann, PE (1999) Breast growth and the urinary excretion of lactose during human pregnancy and early lactation: endocrine relationships. Experimental Physiology 84, 421–434.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cox, DB, Owens, RA & Hartmann, PE (1996) Blood and milk prolactin and the rate of milk synthesis in women. Experimental Physiology 81, 1007–1020.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Daly, SEJ, Di Rosso, A, Owens, RA & Hartmann, PE (1993a) Degree of breast emptying explains changes in the fat content, but not fatty acid composition, of human milk. Experimental Physiology 78, 741–755.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Daly, SEJ, Owens, RA & Hartmann, PE (1993b) The short-term synthesis and infant-regulated removal of milk in lactating women. Experimental Physiology 78, 209–220.Google Scholar
Dewey, KG, Finley, DA, Strode, MA & Lonnerdal, B (1986) Relationship of maternal age to breast milk volume and composition. In Human Lactation 2: Maternal and Environmental Factors, pp. 253–274 [Hamosh, M and Goldman, AS, editors]. New York: Plenum Press.Google Scholar
Dewey, KG & Lonnerdal, B (1983) Milk and nutrient intake of breast-fed infants from 1 to 6 months: relation to growth and fatness. Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition 2, 497–506.Google Scholar
Ferris, AM & Jensen, RG (1984) Lipids in human milk: A review 1 Sampling, determination, and content. Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition 3, 108–122.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Garza, C & Butte, NF (1986) Energy concentration of human milk estimated from 24-h pools and various abbreviated sampling schemes. Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition 5, 943–948.Google Scholar
Garza, C & Butte, NF (1990) Energy intakes of human milk-fed infants during the first year. Journal of Pediatrics 117, 5124–5131.Google Scholar
Garza, C, Butte, NF & Dewey, KG (1985) Determination of the energy content of human milk. In Human Lactation 1: Milk Components and Methodologies, pp. 121–126 [Jensen, RG and Neville, MC, editors]. New York: Plenum Press.Google Scholar
Hall, B (1979) Uniformity of human milk. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 32, 304–312.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hambræus, L, Lonnerdal, B, Forsum, E & Gebre-Medhin, M (1978) Nitrogen and protein components of human milk. Acta Paediatrica Scandinavica 67, 561–565.Google Scholar
Hartmann, PE & Kulski, JK (1978) Changes in the composition of the mammary secretion of women after abrupt termination of breast feeding. Journal of Physiology 275, 1–11.Google Scholar
Hartmann, PE, Morgan, SEG & Arthur, PG (1986) Milk let-down and the concentration of fat in breast milk. In Human Lactation 2: Maternal and Environmental Factors, pp. 253–274 [Hamosh, M and Goldman, AS, editors]. New York: Plenum Press.Google Scholar
Hartmann, PE, Sherriff, J & Kent, J (1995) Maternal nutrition and the regulation of milk synthesis. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 54, 379–389.Google Scholar
Hartmann, PE, Sherriff, JL & Mitoulas, LR (1998) Homeostatic mechanisms that regulate lactation during energetic stress. Journal of Nutrition 128, Suppl. 2, 394S–399S.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Heesom, KJ, Souza, PFA, Ilic, V & Williamson, DH (1992) Chain-length dependency of interactions of medium-chain fatty acids with glucose metabolism in acini isolated from lactating rat mammary glands. Biochemical Journal 281, 273–278.Google Scholar
Heinig, MJ, Nommsen, LA, Peerson, JM, Lonnerdal, B & Dewey, KG (1993) Energy and protein intakes of breast-fed and formula-fed infants during the first year of life and their association with growth velocity: the DARLING Study. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 58, 152–161.Google Scholar
Henderson, AJ & Peaker, M (1984) Feed-back control of milk secretion in the goat by a chemical in milk. Journal of Physiology 351, 39–45.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hytten, FE (1954) Clinical and chemical studies in human lactation. British Medical Journal 23, 175–182.Google Scholar
Jensen, RG, Bitman, J, Carlson, SE, Couch, SC, Hamosh, M & Newberg, DS (1995) Milk Lipids: A. Human milk lipids. In Handbook of Milk Composition, pp. 495–542 [Jensen, RG, editor]. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Kent, JC, Mitoulas, L, Cox, DB, Owens, RA & Hartmann, PE (1999) Breast volume and milk production during extended lactation in women. Experimental Physiology 84, 435–447.Google Scholar
Kramer, MS (1981) Do breast-feeding and delayed introduction of solid foods protect against subsequent obesity. Journal of Pediatrics 98, 883–887.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kuhn, NJ & Lowenstein, JM (1967) Lactogenesis in the rat. Biochemical Journal 105, 995–1002.Google Scholar
Lauber, E & Reinhardt, M (1979) Studies on the quality of breast milk during 23 months of lactation in a rural community of the Ivory Coast. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 32, 1159–1173.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lawrence, RA & Lawrence, RM (1999) Breastfeeding: A Guide for the Medical Profession, 5th ed. St Louis, MO: Mosby.Google Scholar
Lucas, A & Davies, PSW (1990) Physiologic energy content of human milk. In Human Lactation 4: Breastfeeding Nutrition, Infection and Infant Growth in Developed and Emerging Countries, pp. 337–357 [Atkinson, SA, Hanson, LA and Chandra, RK, editors]. St John's, Nfld: ARTS Biomedical Publishers and Distributors.Google Scholar
Morrison, SD (1952) Human Milk: Yield, Proximate Principles and Inorganic Constituents. Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau Technical Communication no. 18. Aberdeen: Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau.Google Scholar
Neville, MC, Allen, JC, Archer, PC, Casey, CE, Seacat, J, Keller, RP, Lutes, V, Rasbach, J & Neifert, M (1991) Studies in human lactation: milk volume and nutrient composition during weaning and lactogenesis. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 54, 81–92.Google Scholar
Nommsen, LA, Lovelady, CA, Heinig, MJ, Lonnerdal, B & Dewey, KG (1991) Determinants of energy, protein, lipid, and lactose concentrations in human milk during the first 12 mo of lactation: the DARLING Study. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 53, 457–465.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Picciano, MF (1984) What constitutes a representative human milk sample? Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition 3, 280–283.Google Scholar
Prentice, AM & Prentice, A (1988) Energy costs of lactation. Annual Review of Nutrition 8, 63–79.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Prentice, AM, Spaaij, CJ, Goldberg, GR, Poppitt, SD, Van Raaij, JM, Totton, M, Swann, D & Black, AE (1996) Energy requirements of pregnant and lactating women. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 50, S82–S110.Google Scholar
Prentice, A, Prentice, AM & Whitehead, RG (1981) Breast-milk fat concentrations of rural African women 1. Short-term variations within individuals. British Journal of Nutrition 45, 483–494.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stern, I & Shapiro, B (1953) A rapid and simple method for the determination of esterified fatty acids and for total fatty acids in blood. Journal of Clinical Pathology 6, 158–160.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
von Kries, R, Koletzko, B, Sauerwald, T, von Mutius, E, Barnert, D, Grunert, V & von Voss, H (1999) Breast feeding and obesity: cross sectional study. British Medical Journal 319, 147–150.Google Scholar
Woolridge, MW (1995) Baby-controlled breastfeeding: biocultural implications. In Breastfeeding: Biocultural Perspectives, pp. 217–242 [Stuart-Macadam, P and Dettwyler, KA, editors]. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.Google Scholar