Smoking during pregnancy and lactation and its effects on breast-milk volume

Article Abstract:

Prolactin is a hormone that is made in the pituitary gland in the brain. During pregnancy the pituitary gland increases the production of prolactin, which stimulates the formation of milk in the breasts. Studies performed in laboratory rats have shown that exposure to cigarette smoke reduces prolactin levels and inhibits milk production. Studies in humans have reported that smoking decreases prolactin levels and shortens the duration of breast feeding. Also, it has been reported that infants of mothers who smoke grow at a slower rate than infants of nonsmoking mothers. This suggests that smoking may alter the amount of milk produced in the breasts. A study was performed to determine the effects of cigarette smoking on the volume of breast milk produced in lactating women. The study included 20 women, 10 smokers and 10 nonsmokers, who had given birth one to three months prior to the beginning of the study. The women in the smoking group smoked an average of just under six cigarettes per day during pregnancy and breast-feeding. The volume of milk produced was determined by the deuterium-dilution method, in which the mother drinks a solution containing deuterium and the amount of deuterium in the breast milk and in the infant's saliva is measured. During the two-week study period, the women who did not smoke produced an average of 961 grams of milk per day, while those who smoked produced an average of 693 grams of milk per day. After two weeks of breast feeding the infants of the mothers who smoked gained an average of 340 grams, while the infants of the mothers who did not smoke gained an average of 550 grams. It is concluded that cigarette smoking reduces breast-milk volume and that the amount of breast milk produced is not enough to support the energy requirements of the infant. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Evaluation, Physiological aspects, Pregnant women, Smokers, Smoking, Lactation, Milk production

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Flavin composition of human milk

Article Abstract:

Infants usually derive a majority of their macronutrients from human or cow milk. Riboflavin, one of the B vitamins, is essential for normal function, and North American adults frequently obtain at least one third of their recommended level of riboflavin from milk and dairy products. However, in the past, determination of actual levels of riboflavin and similar flavin compounds was achieved with rather imprecise methods. It is important to document the levels of riboflavin and other nutritionally active or inhibitory flavins in breast milk particularly, so that estimates of riboflavin requirements may be evaluated and so that composition of infant formula and recommendations for dairy food intake can be reformulated, where needed. The levels of flavins in human milk were determined with HPLC (high pressure liquid chromatography), a modern analytic technique, and results compared with those obtained for cow milk. Five flavin compounds were isolated and identified. The total flavin levels were almost twofold higher than some previously reported, but agreed with those from more recent studies. The result led to calculations that suggest that the present recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for riboflavin be increased to 1.7 to 1.8 milligrams per day. The amount of riboflavin ingested by infants is also likely to be underestimated. One flavin thought to be inhibitory, 10-hydroxyethylflavin, was present at a level under 10 percent of total flavins and is less significant nutritionally than it is in cow milk, where its level is higher. Further research on flavin ingestion, secretion, and excretion is needed. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Composition, Breast milk, Pigments

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