A STUDY ON MEASUREMENT OF MATURE BREAST MILK CALCIUM CONCENTRATION IN AHWAZ, AND THE ESSENTIALITY OF SAMPLING FROM BOTH BREASTS

Considering the vital role of calcium ion (Ca++) in human nutrition and due to geographical variations in human milk composition, it would be of great importance to determine the calcium content of milk in different regions. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to determine Ca++ concentration of mature breast milk in Ahwaz, and to determine if it would be necessary to collect breast milk samples from both breasts. From either breast of 53 healthy lactating mothers, 1.5-3 months after delivery, about 10 ml of foremilk was expressed manually. Milk samples were kept at –20 ºC until the time of analysis. Breast milk Ca++ concentration was measured using atomic absorption spectrometry. Statistical analyses were carried out by SPSS software using paired t-test and Pearson correlation coefficient. The mean breast milk Ca++ concentration was 235 mg/L. There was no statistically significant correlation between the 2 breasts with respect to Ca++ concentration, but there was a significant correlation between the average of Ca++ concentration of the two breasts combined with that of either breast separately (p<0.01). Our findings suggest that taking a random sample from one breast is sufficient to determine Ca++ concentration of human milk.