Impact of Infant Hospitalization on Human Milk Macronutrients Content -
a Prospective Study

Background:

Several studies have observed an effect of stress and anxiety on breastfeeding. The aim of our study was to evaluate the impact of infant hospitalization on parental stress and macronutrients content of human milk (HM).

Methods:

Twenty-one mothers, whose children were hospitalized due to neonatal fever, were recruited. Mother anxiety was measured using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Breast milk samples (2-3 ml) were collected at 3 time points: first day of admission, second day of admission and one week after discharge. Macronutrients content measurements were performed using the HM infrared spectroscopy analyzer (MIRIS).

Results:

A total of 63 milk aliquots were analyzed. Paired t-test analysis showed that fat and energy contents in the last milk sample were significantly higher compared with the first sample taken at infant admission (p=0.019 and p=0.022, respectively). We found that mothers’ anxiety states at time of infant admission was significantly higher than one week after discharge (p< 0.001). However we could not demonstrate a significant correlation between the changes in fat content and the changes in STAI score at time of admission and one week after discharge.

Conclusions:

Infant hospitalization is associated with a significantly lower fat and energy contents in HM. Though a significant elevation of maternal stress was also recognized, causality between changes in macronutrients content and STAI score could not be statistically demonstrated.