title: Human milk fatty acids profile changes during prolonged lactation: a cross-sectional study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Human milk produced during prolonged lactation (> 1 year) is extraordinarily rich in fat and has a higher energy content than human milk produced during short lactation.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To estimate the fatty acid (FA) profile of human milk and to test the hypothesis that the proportion of C12 and C14 (two dietary saturated FA known to most promote hypercholesterolemia) in human milk during prolonged lactation is similar to that in short lactation.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a cross-sectional study of 30 mothers of term infants lactating for more than 1 year as compared with 25 mothers of full-term infants who lactated for 2-6 months. Milk was collected by manual expression in mid-breastfeeding.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The two groups did not differ in maternal height, weight, body mass index, diet, infant birth weight and gestational age, but mothers in the prolonged lactation group were significantly older. There was a significant correlation between lactation duration and C12 or C14. The percentage of all FA combined (except for C12 and C14) decreased significantly overtime. In contrast, C12:0 and C14:0 combined increased significantly during lactation (R2 = 10.0%, P < 0.03).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Women who lactated for more than 1 year had higher C12 and C14 FA percentages in their milk than women who lactated for 2-6 months.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neonatology, Lis Maternity Hospital, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Ronit
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lubetzky
authors.forename: Galit
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zaidenberg-Israeli
authors.forename: Francis B
authors.initials: FB
authors.lastname: Mimouni
authors.forename: Shaul
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dollberg
authors.forename: Eyal
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Shimoni
authors.forename: Yael
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ungar
authors.forename: Dror
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mandel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001942:Breast Feeding; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007774:Lactation / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000737:chemistry*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D005227:Fatty Acids