529 VITAMINS A, E, FAT AND CHOLESTEROL CONTENT OF PRE TERM AND TERM HUMAN MILK

We studied the vitamins A, E, fat (total lipid) and cholesterol content of milk from 8 preterm mothers (gest. 30-36 weeks) and 10 term (gest. 40 weeks) mothers. Expressed milk was collected on days 3, 9, 15, 21, 27 and 33 postpartum. To study the effects of maternal diet on its milk composition, a 48 hour dietary intake was recorded on days 3, 15, and 33. There were no differences in the vitamin A content between the preterm (PT) and term (T) milks; mean total for the study, 993±237 (M±SD) and 809±368 IU/d1 respectively. The vitamin E content of PT and T milk was also not different; 0.95±0.36 IU/d1 for PT and 1.4±0.5 IU/d1 for T. However, PT milk had a lower mean fat content during the study than T milk (2.08±.81 vs. 3.28±1.33 gm/d1, p<.01). In both groups the fat content of the milk increased from day 3 to 33 (p<.001). There was no difference in cholesterol content of PT and T milk except on day 15 when preterm milk cholesterol was higher than T milk (7.84±3.5 mg/dl vs. 2.49±2.67 mg/d1, p<.02). The cholesterol content of the milk in both groups on day 33 was significantly higher than days 3, 9, 15 and 27. All mothers met or exceeded the recommended daily allowance of vitamins, fats and cholesterol during the study. No significant correlation was shown between maternal dietary ingestion and milk content. In conclusion, preterm milk is similar to term milk in vitamin A and E content, but has a lower fat and a higher cholesterol content during the first 33 days of lactation.