부산대학교 도서관

We examined the relation between the vitamin A status of Spanish women during pregnancy and concentrations of vitamin A in breast milk. The subjects were 57 healthy, lactating women aged 18-35 y. Vitamin A intake was determined during the third trimester of pregnancy by using a 5-d dietary record that included a Sunday and by recording the quantities provided by supplements. HPLC was used to determine vitamin A concentrations in subjects' serum during the third trimester, in transitional breast milk (on days 13-14 of lactation), and in mature breast milk (on day 40). During the third trimester, 33.3% of subjects had vitamin A intakes from diet and supplements [is less than] 800 [mu]g/d, the recommended value. These subjects had serum and breast milk vitamin A concentrations that were significantly lower than those of subjects who consumed greater quantities of the vitamin. Furthermore, subjects with serum vitamin A concentrations [is less than] 1.05 [[mu]mol/L during the third trimester (22.8%) had lower mean (+ or - SD) concentrations of the vitamin in mature breast milk than did subjects with higher serum concentrations (1.8 [+ or - 1.2 [mu]mol/L compared with 2.6 [+ or -] 0.8 [mu]mol/L; P [is less than] 0.05). These results show that vitamin A intake and serum vitamin A concentrations during pregnancy influence the composition of breast milk. Given that 12.3% of subjects had [is less than] 1.40 [mu]mol vitamin A/L in mature breast milk, it seems advisable to follow and, if necessary, improve vitamin A status during pregnancy and lactation.