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American Academy of Pediatrics
Article

Lactational Capacity of Marginally Nourished Mothers: Relationships Between Maternal Nutritional Status and Quantity and Proximate Composition of Milk

Kenneth H. Brown, Naheed Ahmed Akhtar, Alastair D. Robertson and M. Giashuddin Ahmed
Pediatrics November 1986, 78 (5) 909-919;
Kenneth H. Brown
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Naheed Ahmed Akhtar
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Alastair D. Robertson
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M. Giashuddin Ahmed
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Abstract

Longitudinal studies of the nutritional status of 60 lactating Bangladeshi mothers from an underprivileged, periurban community and of the quantity and composition of their milk were completed to determine the relationships between maternal nutritional status and lactational capacity. Daily milk production was estimated by 24-hour test-weighing; the nitrogen, fat, lactose, and total energy concentrations of extracted milk samples were analyzed at various stages of lactation to estimate total milk nutrient production. Although the mothers were poorly nourished compared with international reference populations, their lactational capacity was not severely impaired. Average milk production peaked at 750 g/d when the infants were between 5 and 7 months of age. Nitrogen and fat concentrations declined with (log) infant age; lactose concentration increased with (log) infant age (P < .001). Average concentrations of milk nutrients when the infants were 3 months of age were: nitrogen, 0.161 g/dL; fat, 2.804 g/dL; lactose, 7.92 g/dL; energy, 61.0 kcal/dL. Fat and energy concentrations were significantly greater, and fat and energy amounts tended to be greater, for mothers with larger triceps skinfold thickness or arm circumference. Changes in nutritional status within individual women were also significantly related to the amount and composition of their milk: within-woman increases in triceps skinfold thickness were associated with increases in fat and energy concentrations (P < .01) and within-woman increases in body weight were associated with increases in the amounts of milk and all major nutrients (P < .01). Milk production declined significantly during certain months of the year, just before the major harvest period. The findings suggest that, despite their remarkably good lactational capacity, the mothers' milk production was limited to some extent by their nutritional status and may, therefore, be further increased with nutritional improvment.

  • human milk
  • breastfeeding
  • infant growth
  • malnutrition
  • nutritional status
  • Received July 1, 1985.
  • Accepted February 24, 1986.
  • Copyright © 1986 by the American Academy of Pediatrics

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Pediatrics
Vol. 78, Issue 5
1 Nov 1986
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Lactational Capacity of Marginally Nourished Mothers: Relationships Between Maternal Nutritional Status and Quantity and Proximate Composition of Milk
Kenneth H. Brown, Naheed Ahmed Akhtar, Alastair D. Robertson, M. Giashuddin Ahmed
Pediatrics Nov 1986, 78 (5) 909-919;

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Lactational Capacity of Marginally Nourished Mothers: Relationships Between Maternal Nutritional Status and Quantity and Proximate Composition of Milk
Kenneth H. Brown, Naheed Ahmed Akhtar, Alastair D. Robertson, M. Giashuddin Ahmed
Pediatrics Nov 1986, 78 (5) 909-919;
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Cited By...

  • Long-term changes in childhood malnutrition are associated with long-term changes in maternal BMI: evidence from Bangladesh, 1996-2011
  • Zinc Transferred through Breast Milk Does Not Differ between Appropriate- and Small-for-Gestational-Age, Predominantly Breast-Fed Bangladeshi Infants
  • Maternal Weight Loss during Exclusive Breastfeeding Is Associated with Reduced Weight and Length Gain in Daughters of HIV-Infected Malawian Women
  • The Current High Prevalence of Dietary Zinc Inadequacy among Children and Women in Rural Bangladesh Could Be Substantially Ameliorated by Zinc Biofortification of Rice
  • Breast Milk Intake Is Not Reduced More by the Introduction of Energy Dense Complementary Food than by Typical Infant Porridge
  • Low Nutrient Intakes among Infants in Rural Bangladesh Are Attributable to Low Intake and Micronutrient Density of Complementary Foods
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  • Weekly Vitamin A and Iron Supplementation during Pregnancy Increases Vitamin A Concentration of Breast Milk but Not Iron Status in Indonesian Lactating Women
  • Impact of Food Supplementation during Lactation on Infant Breast-Milk Intake and on the Proportion of Infants Exclusively Breast-Fed
  • Effects of Maternal Caloric Restriction and Exercise during Lactation
  • Body Composition Changes during Lactation Are Highly Variable among Women
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