Abstract
Objective To determine the within-day variation of fat, protein, and carbohydrate content of
breast milk.
Methods The study was conducted at Zekai Tahir Burak Maternity Teaching Hospital between
April 2013 and January 2014. We obtained milk samples from lactating mothers of hospitalized
infants through hand expression after breast-feeding or pumping three times a day.
A mid-infrared human milk analyzer was used for measuring the macronutrient contents
of breast milk samples.
Results Lactating mothers of 52 infants (30 preterm, 22 term) were recruited to the study.
No significant difference was found in protein, fat, and carbohydrate content of milk
samples throughout the day. We compared within-day variation of macronutrients of
transitional and mature milk, milk samples from the mothers of preterm and term infants,
and samples collected by either hand expression or pumping. We did not find a significant
difference between the groups.
Conclusion Absence of circadian variations in lipid, carbohydrate, and protein content of breast
milk in our study may be related to ethnic differences, maternal nutritional status,
different milk content measurement technique, and population characteristics.
Keywords
breast milk - circadian variation - macronutrient - infant - mid-infrared human milk
analyzer
