Fat Content of Milk Increases with Time (FYI)

Fat Content of Breast Milk Increases with Time
By Amanda Gardner
HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, Sept. 6 (HealthDay News) -- The longer a mother breast-feeds,
the higher the fat and energy content of her breast milk .

However, experts are not sure what this finding, which appears in the
September issue of Pediatrics, signifies.

"This is the first study to analyze the fat and energy content of breast
milk of mothers who breast-feed for longer than a year," said study
co-author Dr. Ronit Lubetzky, who is with the department of pediatrics
at Dana Children's Hospital at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center in
Israel. "There are more and more women who choose to breast-feed for
longer time periods, and not many studies about the nutritional value of
their milk during this prolonged lactation."

"This is a nicely done study which looked at a question that really
needed to be answered," added Dr. Ruth Lawrence, a professor of
pediatrics at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and a
member of the executive committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics'
section on breast-feeding. "I think many people's general impression is
if you continue to breast-feed beyond a year, probably the nutrient
value drops, and this is quite different information and very important."

No one is sure how long mothers should breast-feed, although the
American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that "breast-feeding continue
for at least 12 months, and thereafter for as long as mutually desired."

A reduction in cardiovascular risks in adulthood is one oft-cited
benefit of this practice. Others, however, have said it might have the
opposite effect.

To determine the fat and energy content of human breast milk at longer
periods, Lubetzky and colleagues sampled the breast milk of 34 mothers
who had been breast-feeding for 12 to 39 months, and compared that with
the milk of 27 mothers who had been breast-feeding for only two to six
months.

They found a startling difference: the fat content in the mothers who
had breast-fed for longer periods of time was 17.5 percent, versus only
5 percent in the short-term group.

The researchers said that, while it was possible that something other
than duration might be affecting the findings, they still felt this was
the most likely explanation for the difference.

It's not clear what the effects of this higher energy and fat content
are on a child's health.

"We showed that the milk of mothers who breast-fed more than a year had
a very high fat content," Lubetzky said. "That contradicts the claim
that breast-feeding at this stage has no nutritional contribution. On
the other hand, the long-term effect of such a high-fat intake has not
been studied."

"The constituents of fat and human milk are very different than what we
provide in formula today. One of the most important constituents of
human milk is cholesterol. Formula does not," Lawrence said. "There are
many people who think that probably one of the problems with cholesterol
today occurs because infants have not had any cholesterol in the first
few months of life; perhaps the body doesn't learn to deal with it.
There are studies that show that young adults have much lower
cholesterol levels if they were breast-fed than if they were bottle-fed."

Still, Lawrence added, this is an area that needs to be researched further.

Lubetzky agreed. "Further studies should analyze this milk fat
qualitatively, and try to sort out the influence of prolonged
breast-feeding on cardiovascular issues," she said.

Another study in the same issue of the journal found, not surprisingly,
that American hospitals designated as "Baby Friendly" by the World
Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund had
higher breast-feeding rates than other hospitals. These hospitals follow
WHO's "Ten Steps to Successful Breast-feeding."

At Baby Friendly institutions, the rate of women beginning
breast-feeding was 83.8 percent, versus 69.5 percent nationally. The
initiation rate at hospitals with a higher proportion of black patients
was only 70.7 percent.

The overall rate of women who breast-fed exclusively during their
hospital stay was 78.4 percent at Baby Friendly hospitals compared with
a national mean of 46.3 percent.

More information

The American Academy of Pediatrics has a policy statement on breast-feeding.

SOURCES: Ronit Lubetzky, M.D., department of pediatrics, Dana Children's
Hospital, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel; Ruth
Lawrence, M.D., professor, pediatrics, University of Rochester School of
Medicine, Rochester, N.Y., and member, executive committee, section on
breast-feeding, American Academy of Pediatrics; September 2005 Pediatrics

Copyright © 2005 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.

On Tue, 13 Sep 2005 10:54:57 +0800, Jo
wrote:


To determine the fat and energy content of human breast milk at longer
periods, Lubetzky and colleagues sampled the breast milk of 34 mothers
who had been breast-feeding for 12 to 39 months, and compared that with
the milk of 27 mothers who had been breast-feeding for only two to six
months.

They found a startling difference: the fat content in the mothers who
had breast-fed for longer periods of time was 17.5 percent, versus only
5 percent in the short-term group.

Well, isn't that interesting? That might explain why my second, third
and fourth babies all whacked on the weight quicker than the first.

Cheryl

"Jo" wrote in message
...
"The constituents of fat and human milk are very different than what we
provide in formula today. One of the most important constituents of human
milk is cholesterol. Formula does not," Lawrence said. "There are many
people who think that probably one of the problems with cholesterol today
occurs because infants have not had any cholesterol in the first few
months of life; perhaps the body doesn't learn to deal with it. There are
studies that show that young adults have much lower cholesterol levels if
they were breast-fed than if they were bottle-fed."

this makes so much sense to me. i think that if they look into it further
they could find that this is a very large contributing factor to the huge
increase in heart disease & cholesterol problems in the last few or more
decades.
--
elizabeth (in australia)
DS 20th august 2002
#2 due 14th october 2005 (currently: 35 weeks)

"Worry is like a rocking chair--it gives you something to do but it doesn't
get you anywhere." -- Anonymous

Heh! No wonder DS is such a chubster - I wonder how the length of nursing
and fat content responds to a pregnancy in the time frame???
"Jo" wrote in message
...
Fat Content of Breast Milk Increases with Time
By Amanda Gardner
HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, Sept. 6 (HealthDay News) -- The longer a mother breast-feeds,
the higher the fat and energy content of her breast milk .

However, experts are not sure what this finding, which appears in the
September issue of Pediatrics, signifies.

"This is the first study to analyze the fat and energy content of breast
milk of mothers who breast-feed for longer than a year," said study
co-author Dr. Ronit Lubetzky, who is with the department of pediatrics
at Dana Children's Hospital at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center in
Israel. "There are more and more women who choose to breast-feed for
longer time periods, and not many studies about the nutritional value of
their milk during this prolonged lactation."

"This is a nicely done study which looked at a question that really
needed to be answered," added Dr. Ruth Lawrence, a professor of
pediatrics at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and a
member of the executive committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics'
section on breast-feeding. "I think many people's general impression is
if you continue to breast-feed beyond a year, probably the nutrient
value drops, and this is quite different information and very important."

No one is sure how long mothers should breast-feed, although the
American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that "breast-feeding continue
for at least 12 months, and thereafter for as long as mutually desired."

A reduction in cardiovascular risks in adulthood is one oft-cited
benefit of this practice. Others, however, have said it might have the
opposite effect.

To determine the fat and energy content of human breast milk at longer
periods, Lubetzky and colleagues sampled the breast milk of 34 mothers
who had been breast-feeding for 12 to 39 months, and compared that with
the milk of 27 mothers who had been breast-feeding for only two to six
months.

They found a startling difference: the fat content in the mothers who
had breast-fed for longer periods of time was 17.5 percent, versus only
5 percent in the short-term group.

The researchers said that, while it was possible that something other
than duration might be affecting the findings, they still felt this was
the most likely explanation for the difference.

It's not clear what the effects of this higher energy and fat content
are on a child's health.

"We showed that the milk of mothers who breast-fed more than a year had
a very high fat content," Lubetzky said. "That contradicts the claim
that breast-feeding at this stage has no nutritional contribution. On
the other hand, the long-term effect of such a high-fat intake has not
been studied."

"The constituents of fat and human milk are very different than what we
provide in formula today. One of the most important constituents of
human milk is cholesterol. Formula does not," Lawrence said. "There are
many people who think that probably one of the problems with cholesterol
today occurs because infants have not had any cholesterol in the first
few months of life; perhaps the body doesn't learn to deal with it.
There are studies that show that young adults have much lower
cholesterol levels if they were breast-fed than if they were bottle-fed."

Still, Lawrence added, this is an area that needs to be researched
further.

Lubetzky agreed. "Further studies should analyze this milk fat
qualitatively, and try to sort out the influence of prolonged
breast-feeding on cardiovascular issues," she said.

Another study in the same issue of the journal found, not surprisingly,
that American hospitals designated as "Baby Friendly" by the World
Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund had
higher breast-feeding rates than other hospitals. These hospitals follow
WHO's "Ten Steps to Successful Breast-feeding."

At Baby Friendly institutions, the rate of women beginning
breast-feeding was 83.8 percent, versus 69.5 percent nationally. The
initiation rate at hospitals with a higher proportion of black patients
was only 70.7 percent.

The overall rate of women who breast-fed exclusively during their
hospital stay was 78.4 percent at Baby Friendly hospitals compared with
a national mean of 46.3 percent.

More information

The American Academy of Pediatrics has a policy statement on
breast-feeding.

SOURCES: Ronit Lubetzky, M.D., department of pediatrics, Dana Children's
Hospital, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel; Ruth
Lawrence, M.D., professor, pediatrics, University of Rochester School of
Medicine, Rochester, N.Y., and member, executive committee, section on
breast-feeding, American Academy of Pediatrics; September 2005 Pediatrics

Copyright © 2005 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.

On Tue, 13 Sep 2005 13:17:28 +1000, in misc.kids.breastfeeding Cheryl
wrote:

On Tue, 13 Sep 2005 10:54:57 +0800, Jo
wrote:


To determine the fat and energy content of human breast milk at longer
periods, Lubetzky and colleagues sampled the breast milk of 34 mothers
who had been breast-feeding for 12 to 39 months, and compared that with
the milk of 27 mothers who had been breast-feeding for only two to six
months.

They found a startling difference: the fat content in the mothers who
had breast-fed for longer periods of time was 17.5 percent, versus only
5 percent in the short-term group.

Well, isn't that interesting? That might explain why my second, third
and fourth babies all whacked on the weight quicker than the first.

Cheryl


Hey maybe the reason for this is that if a woman is still nursing after over a
year she may very well have a new baby to nurse so to efficiently feed more then
one baby the milk fat percentage goes up??

wrote in message
...
On Tue, 13 Sep 2005 13:17:28 +1000, in misc.kids.breastfeeding Cheryl
wrote:

On Tue, 13 Sep 2005 10:54:57 +0800, Jo
wrote:


To determine the fat and energy content of human breast milk at longer
periods, Lubetzky and colleagues sampled the breast milk of 34 mothers
who had been breast-feeding for 12 to 39 months, and compared that with
the milk of 27 mothers who had been breast-feeding for only two to six
months.

They found a startling difference: the fat content in the mothers who
had breast-fed for longer periods of time was 17.5 percent, versus only
5 percent in the short-term group.

Well, isn't that interesting? That might explain why my second, third
and fourth babies all whacked on the weight quicker than the first.

Cheryl


Hey maybe the reason for this is that if a woman is still nursing after
over a
year she may very well have a new baby to nurse so to efficiently feed
more then
one baby the milk fat percentage goes up??


Or how about the simple fact that an infant/toddler/kid weighing 20-30 lbs
needs more calories, fat and energy than a newborn? It's not rocket
science. Makes perfect sense to me.
--

Jamie
Earth Angels:
Taylor Marlys, 1/3/03 -- My Big Girl, who started preschool, and loved it!
Addison Grace, 9/30/04 -- My Little Walker, who wants nothing more than to
go explore the world!

Check out the family! -- www.MyFamily.com, User ID: Clarkguest1, Password:
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Become a member for free - go to Add Member to set up your own User ID and
Password

On Mon, 12 Sep 2005 23:16:45 -0700, in misc.kids.breastfeeding "Jamie Clark"
wrote:

wrote in message
.. .
On Tue, 13 Sep 2005 13:17:28 +1000, in misc.kids.breastfeeding Cheryl
wrote:

On Tue, 13 Sep 2005 10:54:57 +0800, Jo
wrote:


To determine the fat and energy content of human breast milk at longer
periods, Lubetzky and colleagues sampled the breast milk of 34 mothers
who had been breast-feeding for 12 to 39 months, and compared that with
the milk of 27 mothers who had been breast-feeding for only two to six
months.

They found a startling difference: the fat content in the mothers who
had breast-fed for longer periods of time was 17.5 percent, versus only
5 percent in the short-term group.

Well, isn't that interesting? That might explain why my second, third
and fourth babies all whacked on the weight quicker than the first.

Cheryl


Hey maybe the reason for this is that if a woman is still nursing after
over a
year she may very well have a new baby to nurse so to efficiently feed
more then
one baby the milk fat percentage goes up??


Or how about the simple fact that an infant/toddler/kid weighing 20-30 lbs
needs more calories, fat and energy than a newborn? It's not rocket
science. Makes perfect sense to me.


That is made up for by the FACT that most 20-30 lbs toddlers are also eating
solids. The extra fat would support the newborn AND the toddler at the same
time though. No it's not rocket science or common sense.

"Jamie Clark" wrote in message
...
Or how about the simple fact that an infant/toddler/kid weighing 20-30 lbs
needs more calories, fat and energy than a newborn? It's not rocket
science. Makes perfect sense to me.

Doesn't make sense to me, since a baby that old would be eating and not
existing solely off BF.

They found a startling difference: the fat content in the mothers who had
breast-fed for longer periods of time was 17.5 percent, versus only 5
percent in the short-term group.

I'm surprised it is this low, it certainly looks like there is more than
that if I leave expressed milk in the fridge

Anne

"Cheryl" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 13 Sep 2005 10:54:57 +0800, Jo
wrote:


To determine the fat and energy content of human breast milk at longer
periods, Lubetzky and colleagues sampled the breast milk of 34 mothers
who had been breast-feeding for 12 to 39 months, and compared that with
the milk of 27 mothers who had been breast-feeding for only two to six
months.

They found a startling difference: the fat content in the mothers who
had breast-fed for longer periods of time was 17.5 percent, versus only
5 percent in the short-term group.

Well, isn't that interesting? That might explain why my second, third
and fourth babies all whacked on the weight quicker than the first.

But my 2nd put wieght on much slower. And I didn't stop feeding #1 until #2
came along.
Debbie