Background and Aim
There are multiple health benefits associated with both breastfeeding and participation in physical activity (PA). Therefore, it is likely that many women might want to engage in both. However, little is known about the effect of PA on human-milk (HM) macronutrients content. We thus designed the current study in order to examine the effect of moderate-intensity PA on HM volume and macronutrients content.
Methods
A prospective, randomized clinical-trial with cross-over on 31 healthy mothers who exclusively breastfed their infants. Mothers expressed HM for a total of 15-minutes twice a day on 2 consecutive days - with PA (1-hour before and 1-hour after PA) and with no-PA at the exact same hours. The sequence of days (with/without PA) was randomly determined. Immediately following expression, samples were stored in a freezer (-20°C) until thawed and analyzed using infrared transmission spectroscopy HM analyzer. Physical activity was graded according to the Borg-Rating-of-Perceived-Exertion scale (RPE scale).
Results
A total 124 HM samples from 31 mothers were analyzed. No statistically significant differences in any of the macronutrients were found between HM samples expressed before and after moderate-intensity PA (table 1, figure2). Delta macronutrients content from the day with PA (before-after PA) and of control day without PA (sample 1-sample 2) was not different. Milk volume also remained unaffected by PA.
Conclusions
Human milk volume and macronutrients content are not influenced by maternal physical activity. Lactating mothers can be reassured regarding their breast milk volume and composition while practicing sport of moderate intensity.
