title: Analyzed vitamin B-6 intakes of pregnant and postpartum lactating and nonlactating women.
abstract: Daily dietary food composites were collected for three consecutive days from 36 women (23 who planned to breast feed their infants and 13 who planned to formula feed their infants) at approximately the 37th week of pregnancy and at one, three, and six months postpartum. When the food composites were collected, each woman also kept detailed food intake records. Daily protein and energy intakes were calculated from the records. Representative aliquots of the homogenized food composites were analyzed microbiologically for total vitamin B-6. The data from the composite analyses indicate that the daily dietary intakes of vitamin B-6 for both groups of women in late pregnancy through six months postpartum were substantially less than the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs). During pregnancy, the women who planned to breast feed their infants consumed diets which provided 54% of the RDA. The women who planned to formula feed their infants consumed diets which provided only 44% of the RDA for vitamin B-6 for pregnant women. At one, three, and six months postpartum, the diets of the lactating women provided 61% of their RDA for vitamin B-6, and the diets of the nonlactating women provided a mean of 46%. Of the 402 daily dietary composites analyzed, only 6% met or exceeded the RDA for vitamin B-6 for the women while they were pregnant or postpartum, either lactating or nonlactating.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004032:Diet; D004034:Diet Surveys; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007774:Lactation; D049590:Postpartum Period; D011247:Pregnancy; D011736:Pyridoxine
chemical_list: D011736:Pyridoxine