Variation in breast milk macronutrient contents by maternal anemia and hemoglobin concentration in northern Kenya.

Objectives: This study explored differing levels of macronutrients in breast milk in relation to maternal anemia and hemoglobin.

Methods: Archived milk specimens and data from a cross-sectional sample of 208 breastfeeding mothers in northern Kenya, originally collected in 2006, were analyzed; data included milk fat, maternal hemoglobin concentration, and anemia status (anemia defined as hemoglobin <12 g/dL). Total protein and lactose were measured and energy was calculated.

Buffered or impaired: Maternal anemia, inflammation and breast milk macronutrients in northern Kenya.

Background: Maternal anemia has adverse consequences for the mother-infant dyad. To evaluate whether and how milk nutrient content may change in ways that could "buffer" infants against the conditions underlying maternal anemia, this study assessed associations between milk macronutrients and maternal iron-deficiency anemia (IDA), non-iron-deficiency anemia (NIDA), and inflammation.

Methods: A secondary analysis of cross-sectional data and milk from northern Kenya was conducted (n = 204).