The Dynamic in Breast Milk Composition

A mother’s milk composition is dynamic, varying across the lactation time, during the same day and the same feeding.  Every mother makes tailor-made milk for her own child.  Various factors influence the composition of human milk, including the environment, genetics, geographical origins, nutrition (pre-and post-partum), lactation stage, mode of delivery, offspring gender and gestational age. 

In this presentation, Massimo Agosti gives a detailed explanation of each of these factors and the ways in which they influence milk composition.  He looks at protein, carbohydrates, HMO’s, amino acids and lipids, and their function in breast milk.  Some of the changes in nutrient concentrations reflect the successively slowing growth rate and developmental changes in metabolic requirements that infants undergo during the first year of life