Maternal dietary diversity and milk composition

Abstract

Introduction: Dietary diversity (DD) is a practical indicator of micronutrient intake, essential for women's health and the quality of breast milk.

Objective: To compare the concentration of micronutrients in human milk according to DD in breastfeeding women attending a public hospital.

Materials and Methods: Observational, cross-sectional study. Women between 3 and 6 months postpartum who attended the Health Observatory of IDIP between November 2022-2023, breastfeeding exclusively or partially, were included. Milk samples, sociodemographic, and dietary data were collected to assess DD using the FAO's "Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women" tool. Participants were classified as "with" or "without" DD based on the consumption of five or more predefined food groups. Concentrations of vitamin A (liquid chromatography), DHA (gas chromatography), iron, and zinc (atomicbsorption) were measured. Micronutrient medians were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee.

Results: Ninety women participated, 60% with DD. Groups were comparable except for a higher proportion of non-Argentine women in the DD group. Women with DD reported a higher intake of "other vegetables," "dairy products," "fruits and vegetables rich in vitamin A," "other fruits," and "dark green leafy vegetables" (p<0.05). Differences in vitamin A concentration in milk (µg/dL) were found [with DD: 11.5 (8.8; 17.7); without DD: 7.5 (6.1; 12.5), p=0.017].

Conclusion: Lactating women with DD have higher concentrations of vitamin A in their breast milk.