Antioxidant capacity of breast milk of mothers who delivered prematurely is higher than that of mothers who delivered at term.
BACKGROUND
The total antioxidant capacity of plasma of preterm infants has been suggested to be lower than that of term infants. The objective of this study was to compare the total antioxidant capacity of the breast milk of mothers who delivered prematurely with that of mothers who delivered at term.


METHODS
A total of 71 breast milk samples were collected, 41 from mothers who delivered preterm (27 to 37 weeks) and 30 from mothers who delivered at term (38 to 42 weeks).


RESULTS
The mean total antioxidant capacity of the breast milk of mothers who delivered prematurely was higher (2.19 ± 0.88 mmol/L) than that of mothers who delivered at term (1.7 ± 0.86 mmol/L) (p = 0.024).


CONCLUSIONS
Breastfeeding may protect preterm infants against oxidative stress and related disorders in the neonatal period.
Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Mersin, Mersin, Turkey. alihaydarturhan@gmail.com
Ali Haydar
AH
Turhan
Aytuğ
A
Atici
Necati
N
Muşlu
D000328:Adult; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000378:metabolism*; D001942:Breast Feeding; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000378:metabolism*; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D011247:Pregnancy; D047928:Premature Birth
D000975:Antioxidants