Download Breast Milk Yield and Composition (A Longitudinal Study in Turkey)

Vitamins and Minerals in Pregnancy and
Lactation, edited by Heribert Berger. Nestle
Nutrition Workshop Series, Vol. 16. Nestec
Ltd., Vevey/Raven Press, Ltd., New York
© 1988.
Maternal Nutrition: Breast Milk Yield and
Composition (A Longitudinal Study
in Turkey)
O. Koksal
Hacettepe Medical School, Ankara, Turkey
Pregnant mothers living in the Ankara-f ubuk district were followed
from the third month of pregnancy to 6 months after delivery between 1983
and 1986. Weight gain, health, and nutritional status of 115 pregnant mothers
were carefully observed and recorded. In general, weight gain was satisfactory. The percentage of mothers who gained less than 7 kg was 19.2%
and more than 12 kg, 14.7%.
Although there was no positive relation between weight gain, socioeconomic status, and energy intake of pregnant mothers, the weight gain was
affected by protein intake. Whenever any unsatisfactory conditions were
seen, advice was given to the mothers by health personnel.
Most of the mothers were delivered at Qubuk district hospital. This provided an opportunity for accurately measuring birthweight and length and
observing the condition of the mothers and the newborns.
The average birthweight and length were found to be 3,332 g and 50.2 cm,
respectively. The low-birthweight ratio was 4.3%, which is comparable with
figures in developed countries.
TABLE 1. Breast milk yield of Turkish mothers (1985)
Lactation
period
(months)
1
2
3
4
5
6
Breast milk quantity (g/day)
n
X
SD
Range
31
24
19
19
16
14
613
695
645
655
730
735
167
182
203
174
287
329
275-970
350-1070
290-935
250-985
325-1400
290-1620
355
356
MATERNAL NUTRITION
TABLE 2. Mineral content of breast milk of Turkish mothers (1985)
Minerals ((xg/100g milk)
Copper
Lactation
period
Iron
Zinc
n
X
24
25
22
59 ± 13
58 ± 13
57 ± 11
74 ± 21
68 ± 17
67 ± 17
854 ± 364
722 ± 218
662 ± 250
31
23
19
19
16
14
47
35
31
30
27
22
66
53
49
46
43
38
368
228
175
169
143
117
SD
X
SD
X
SD
Colostrum
(day)
1
2
3
Mature milk
(month)
1
2
3
4
5
6
±
±
±
±
±
±
8
7
8
6
7
5
±
±
±
±
±
±
11
8
8
3
5
5
±
±
±
±
±
±
137
96
79
82
83
45
Only 1.7% of the babies could not be breast-fed, and 4.3% of them were
weaned before 5 months of age. More than 85% were breast-fed beyond 6
months of age. Supplementary foods were introduced earlier, and 40% of
the babies had received some kind of food before 4 months of age. The
quantity and quality of breast milk were measured and analyzed.
TABLE 3. Protein and fat content of breast milk of Turkish mothers
Protein (g/100 ml)
Lactation
period
SD
Fat (g/100 ml)
n
X
X
SD
25
24
23
1.91 ± 0.38
1.73 ± 0.21
1.47 ± 0.16
2.3 ± 1.1
2.6 ± 1.0
2.7 ± 1.2
31
24
19
19
16
14
1.21
1.05
1.01
1.00
0.98
0.93
3.8
3.7
3.3
3.4
3.6
3.2
Colostrum
(day)
1
2
3
Mature milk
(month)
1
2
3
4
5
6
± 0.17
± 0.10
± 0.14
± 0.11
±1.11
± 0.08
±
±
±
±
±
±
1.0
1.6
1.3
1.1
1.8
1.4
MATERNAL NUTRITION
357
The protein, nitrogen, and some trace-element contents of colostrum were
higher than in mature breast milk. The nutrient content of mature breast
milk was found to be similar to that of Swedish and Hungarian mothers.
These findings are shown in Tables 1, 2, and 3.
The physical growth and development of the babies from birth to 1 year
of age were found to be satisfactory and in line with WHO growth standards.