Abstract
Human milk is nutrient rich, complex in its composition, and is key to a baby’s health through its role in nutrition, gastrointestinal tract and immune development. Seventy-eight mothers (19–42 years of age) of Asian, Māori, Pacific Island, or of European ethnicity living in Manawatu-Wanganui, New Zealand (NZ) completed the study. The women provided three breast milk samples over a one-week period (6–8 weeks postpartum), completed a three-day food diary and provided information regarding their pregnancy and lactation experiences. The breast milk samples were analyzed for protein, fat, fatty acid profile, ash, selected minerals (calcium, magnesium, selenium, zinc), and carbohydrates. Breast milk nutrient profiles showed no significant differences between the mothers of different ethnicities in their macronutrient (protein, fat, carbohydrate, and moisture) content. The breast milk of Asian mothers contained significantly higher levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), omega-3 (n-3) and omega-6 (n-6) fatty acids, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and linoleic acids. Arachidonic acid was significantly lower in the breast milk of Māori and Pacific Island women. Dietary intakes of protein, total energy, saturated and polyunsaturated fat, calcium, phosphorus, zinc, iodine, vitamin A equivalents, and folate differed between the ethnic groups, as well as the number of serves of dairy foods, chicken, and legumes. No strong correlations between dietary nutrients and breast milk components were found.
Highlights
Human milk usually provides all the nutrients a human infant requires for the first 6 months of life
To further understand the dietary sources of nutrients eaten by the mothers, we examined the number of serves per day of the main food groups (Table 7) and found that these were similar across the ethnic groups—except for dairy products where New Zealand (NZ) European mothers consumed significantly (p = 0.009) more serves
We found that the breast milk nutrient profiles of women from different ethnicities were similar in their macronutrient composition, but there were differences in the concentrations of some fatty acids and magnesium
Summary
Human milk usually provides all the nutrients a human infant requires for the first 6 months of life. The World Health Organization (WHO) [6] and the national advisory bodies of many countries, including New Zealand (NZ) [7], actively support and promote breastfeeding by their strong recommendations that all infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months of life and that breastfeeding be continued with appropriate complementary foods for 2 years and beyond postpartum. Human milk composition varies considerably within and between mothers and even within a single milk expression This multidimensional variation in composition is believed to be an adaptation to the infants’ changing needs [8,9,10], and geographical region and food supply [11,12]. Studies of human milk composition in other regions and populations are important, with regard to micronutrient concentrations and the proportions of specific lipids where a large variability has been noted from existing studies [14,17,18,19]
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