Relação entre fatores maternos e conteúdo energético do leite humano de mães de recém-nascidos internados em uma unidade neonatal

Abstract

To verify maternal factors that influence the nutritional composition of human milk. Analyze the energy content and fat content of human milk samples collected and investigate the association between maternal characteristics, nutritional status and gestational age. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study, the sample consisted of 40 nursing mothers. Adult women aged 20 years or older, whose expressed milk was being secreted from the seventh postpartum day onwards, were considered eligible to participate in the research. The interview was guided by means of a semi-structured questionnaire to identify the donors and collect sociodemographic data, history of chronic and gestational diseases, obstetric history and data from the current pregnancy, then anthropometric measurements were taken and a food frequency questionnaire was applied. The energy content of human milk samples collected was determined using crematocrit. The comparison between groups was made using the Mann-Whitney test, considering that the data were not parametric. Categorical variables were tabulated in absolute and relative values, and associations were analyzed using Fisher's Exact Test. The significance level adopted in all tests was 5%, that is, p <0.05. Results: The results pointed to a high percentage of women with overweight and obesity, as well as excessive weight gain during pregnancy. Nursing mothers whose milk produced had a higher energy value had a higher median weight gain. In addition, an association was observed between the percentage of maternal body fat and BMI at the end of pregnancy with prematurity. The difference between the medians of pre-gestational BMI and current BMI was also evident. Conclusion: The results did not indicate a relationship between maternal nutritional status and the energy value of human milk, only an association was observed between gestational weight gain and a higher energy value of the milk produced. In addition, an association was observed between the percentage of maternal body fat and BMI at the end of pregnancy with prematurity. These findings highlight the importance of maternal nutritional assessment during pregnancy, as well as awareness and health promotion actions involving guidance on proper nutrition and weight gain for a healthy pregnancy, as well as avoiding harm to the child's health.