Premium
Breast‐Milk Calcium Concentrations during Prolonged Lactation in British and Rural Gambian Mothers
Author(s) -
LASKEY M. A.,
PRENTICE A.,
SHAW J.,
ZACHOU T.,
CEESAY S. M.,
VASQUEZVELASQUEZ L.,
FRASER D. R.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
acta pædiatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/j.1651-2227.1990.tb11504.x
Subject(s) - lactation , breast milk , calcium , medicine , breast feeding , involution (esoterism) , endocrinology , breastfeeding , physiology , parity (physics) , pregnancy , zoology , biology , pediatrics , biochemistry , consciousness , genetics , physics , particle physics , neuroscience
. Detailed investigations of breast‐milk calcium concentrations during 2 years of lactation have been conducted in Cambridge, UK, and rural Gambia. Mature milk concentrations remained steady for 3 months but declined during months 4‐12 by over 25% (p< 0.001). The pattern was identical in both communities despite differences in breast‐feeding practices. Calcium concentrations were not related to feed frequency or breast‐milk sodium concentrations, suggesting that breast involution is not responsible for the decrease after 3 months. Breast‐milk calcium concentrations were characteristic of the individual, varied twofold between mothers and were independent of maternal age, parity and milk output. Gambian breast‐milk contained 19% less calcium than Cambridge milk, throughout lactation (p< 0.001). The extent to which this reflected the lower calcium intakes of Gambian mothers is unknown. Further studies are required to determine factors regulating breast‐milk calcium secretion.