The Association of Pre-Pregnancy Obesity and Breast Milk Fatty Acids Composition and the Relationship of Postpartum Maternal Diet, Breast Milk Fatty Acids and Infant Growth.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of prepregnancy obesity on fatty acid profile in breast milk, to determine the relationship between maternal diet and fatty acids in breast milk, and to investigate the relationship between fatty acids in breast milk and infant growth. Materials and Methods: Twenty normal-weight mothers, 20 obese mothers, and their infants were recruited. Breast milk samples were collected at 50-70 days postpartum. Breast milk fatty acid was analyzed with gas chromatography. Infant body weight, height, and head circumference were taken from medical records at birth and during study visits at 2 months. Dietary intake was assessed by trained dietitians using a 24-hour dietary recall method. Results: Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA, p = 0.040), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, p = 0.019), and total n-3 fatty acid (p = 0.045) in total milk were found to be higher in normal-weight mothers compared with obese mothers. A positive association was found between C20:4 n-6 in foremilk and weight for age percentile (r = 0.381, p = 0.031; ß = 29.966, p = 0.047). Conclusions: Prevention of prepregnancy obesity is important for future generations, as prepregnancy obesity has many adverse effects on the mother and infant and may affect the composition of breast milk.

The association of pre-pregnancy BMI on leptin, ghrelin, adiponectin and insulin-like growth factor-1 in breast milk: a case-control study.

The nutrient composition of breast milk alters during lactation, and maternal BMI adds more intricacy into its complexity. We aimed to compare leptin, ghrelin, adiponectin and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) levels of pre-feed and post-feed breast milk in mothers with obesity and normal weight, and tried to determine their effects on infants' growth over weight for length z-score. Twenty obese and twenty normal weight mothers with 2-month-old infants were enrolled in this case-control study. Five millilitre pre-feed breast milk and 5 ml post-feed breast milk were collected. Breast milk leptin, ghrelin, adiponectin and IGF-1 were measured by commercial kits. The pre-feed breast milk of mothers with obesity had significantly higher levels of ghrelin than mothers with normal weight (P = 0·025), whereas the post-feed breast milk of mothers with normal weight had higher levels of adiponectin than the mothers with obesity (P = 0·010). No significant differences were observed in leptin and IGF-1 levels between the two groups. Post-feed breast milk IGF-1 levels of mothers with obesity were correlated with infant's weight for length z-score at 2 months (r -0·476; P = 0·034). In linear regression models, parity affected the ghrelin in pre-feed breast milk (P = 0·025). Our results revealed that maternal pre-pregnancy BMI was associated with breast milk components.