Medida de energia total do leite materno de mães de trigêmeos, gêmeos e filhos únicos

OBJECTIVE: To compare the total energy of the human milk of mothers of triplets, twins and single-children. METHODS: A cross-sectional and controlled study with mothers from the Human Milk Bank of Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein was performed. Six samples of triplet, 13 of twin and 17 of only-child mother's milk were analyzed. The milk samples were collected according to the Brazilian Human Milk Banks Network techniques and procedures and were analyzed by creamatocrit method. The results were compared by Kruskal-Wallis variance test. RESULTS: The total milk energy from triplets mothers was statistically higher (median - 651kcal/L) than single-child mothers (560kcal/L) (p<0.05). The milk of twin mothers and of single child mothers, regarding energy content, were similar. The triplet neonates presented lower birth weight (median-1344g) when compared to single neonates (1975g) (p<0.01). There was no significant difference among the studied groups regarding maternal age and gestational age. CONCLUSIONS: The present study, the first addressing this subject in literature, indicates a higher value of total energy in milk from triplets' mothers. However, further studies are necessary to clarify the mechanisms of this finding.