Docosahexaenoic Acid in Mature Breast Milk of Low‐income Mothers

Abstract

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is among the main components of synaptosomal membranes and myelin sheaths. Because DHA is essential for child neurodevelopment, breast milk DHA levels should be improved by optimizing maternal nutrition. We determined DHA percentage levels in breast milk of low-income mothers receiving care at the public healthcare sector. We performed a descriptive, cross-sectional study in breast milk samples from 39 exclusively breast-feeding adult mothers with normal fetal and neonatal history. Samples were collected 90 ± 7 days after delivery. Breast milk fatty acid composition was determined by gas chromatography. The cut-off value of DHA was 0.3% of total fatty acids in milk according to recommendations. Median DHA in milk was 0.14% (0.12–0.21). Breast milk DHA levels were lower than the minimum recommended in 92% of samples. The analysis of breast milk samples from low-income exclusively breast-feeding mothers showed that they did not reach the minimum recommended DHA percentage.

Fatty Acid Percentage Distribution in Complex Lipids of Breast Milk From Mothers on a Low Docosahexaenoic Acid Diet

“…The highest DHA concentrations were reported in coastal populations and associated with the consumption of marine food (17). In the present study, the mothers evaluated did not consume either omega-3 or DHA precursors, sources, or supplements, corroborating previous findings of our group analyzing maternal dietary intakes in a similar population from the same region (9).…”

“…In a previous study by our group, the DHA percentage in breast milk of mothers assisted in the Public Health System was low, amounting to less than 0.2% (9). In a report of a meta‐analysis of 65 studies of 2474 women (10), mean DHA concentration in breast milk was 0.32 ± 0.22%.…”

“…In this sense, long-chain PUFA (LCPUFA) are a clear example of the variations observed in maternal milk in response to cultural and dietary habit differences (8). In a previous study carried out by our group in breastfeeding mothers receiving care at the public health system, breast milk DHA content and intake were found to be low with reference to international recommendations (9,10).…”

Relationship between traditional maternal diet pattern and breastmilk composition of rural lactating women during the first month postpartum in Shigatse, Tibet

“…Moreover, the content and composition of milk fat are more variable than some other human milk components (such as carbohydrate), comparatively more sensitive to internal and external factors from mothers, infants, or lactation stages (Demmelmair & Koletzko, 2018). Maternal diet has been indicated to be correlated with the fat composition in human milk in previous publications, especially regarding the association of functional PUFA between human milk and maternal diet (Aumeistere et al, 2018;Jiang et al, 2016;Visentin et al, 2019;Yuhas et al, 2006). On the other hand, free amino acids (FAAs) were an important moiety of nonprotein nitrogen fraction in human milk, which promote the utmost utilization of dietary nitrogen and the regulation effect on infant early postnatal development due to the higher absorption efficiency of FAAs than protein-derived amino acids (Agostoni et al, 2000;Zhang et al, 2013).…”

Perfil de ácidos grasos en membrana de glóbulo rojo y leche de madres en período de lactancia

“…La respuesta a la ingesta de ARA en la dieta materna es menos predecible que la del DHA. La mayor concentración de ARA en la leche no proviene de la conversión de la dieta sino de las reservas maternas (15,16). Estudios realizados con trazadores de isótopos estables han encontrado que solo entre el 1% -4% de ácido alfa linolénico (α LNL), proveniente de la dieta, se convierte en DHA.…”