Role of lactation in the nutrition of low socio‐economic groups

Abstract

A 2‐year longitudinal study was made of the production and consumption of milk of 17 mother‐child units in a poor and inadequately nourished rural community. A comparable group was similarly studied with the exception that the diet of the mother was supplemented from the 45th day of gestation until weaning. The children of these mothers were also given food supplements, vitamins and minerals from the third month of age onwards. It was found that in the first six months of lactation, the consumption of milk by infants in the non‐supplemented group followed a curve with a maximum peak of 650 ml, per day. After the sixth month, there was a tendency towards a plateau of about 450 ml. In supplemented mothers, the curve for the first semester was smoother and the volume secreted was 15 percent higher. There was also a decrease in production after the sixth month. It was also found that the milk of the supplemented mothers was more dilute, but it did not differ significantly in its total solid content from the milk produced by the non‐supplemented mothers.