Weekly vitamin A and iron supplementation during pregnancy increases vitamin A concentration of breast milk but not iron status in Indonesian lactating women.
Studies on the effect of vitamin A and iron supplementation during pregnancy on maternal iron and vitamin A status postpartum are scarce. We investigated whether retinol and iron variables in breast milk and in serum postpartum were enhanced more with weekly vitamin A and iron supplementation during pregnancy than with weekly iron supplementation. During pregnancy, subjects were randomly allocated to two groups and received either (n = 88) a weekly supplement of iron (120 mg Fe as FeSO(4)) and folic acid (500 microg) or (n = 82) the same amount of iron and folic acid plus vitamin A [4800 retinol equivalents (RE)]. Transitional milk (4-7 d postpartum) had higher (P < 0.001) concentrations of retinol and iron than mature milk (3 mo postpartum). Compared with the weekly iron group, the weekly vitamin A and iron group had a greater (P < 0.05) concentration of retinol in transitional milk (as micromol/L) and in mature milk (as micromol/g fat). Although serum retinol concentrations approximately 4 mo postpartum did not differ significantly, the weekly vitamin A and iron group had significantly fewer (P < 0.01) subjects with serum retinol concentrations < or = 0.70 micromol/L than the weekly iron group. Iron status and concentrations of iron in transitional and mature milk did not differ between groups. We have shown that weekly vitamin A and iron supplementation during pregnancy enhanced concentrations of retinol in breast milk although not in serum by approximately 4 mo postpartum. However, no positive effects were observed on iron status and iron concentration in breast milk.
Muslimatun
S
S
SEAMEO TROPMED Regional Center for Community Nutrition, University of Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia.
Schmidt
M K
MK
West
C E
CE
Schultink
W
W
Hautvast
J G
JG
Karyadi
D
D
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007214:Indonesia; D019266:Iron, Dietary / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000737:chemistry*; D049590:Postpartum Period; D011247:Pregnancy; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism
D019266:Iron, Dietary; D014801:Vitamin A