ClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT07036094Updated Jun 25, 2025

Relationship Between Nutritional Consumption of Breastfeeding Mothers and Breast Milk Composition During Lactation

An interventional study of Manual breast milk expression in Breastmilk, Breastmilk Expression and Maternal Nutrition, sponsored by Sakarya University. Completed at 1 site in Turkey (Türkiye). Open to female participants aged 19 Years and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-06-25.

Sponsored by Sakarya University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Supportive care

From the registry’s dates

  • Registered 1 year 8 months after the study started (first participant enrolled Aug 2023, registered May 2025).
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
31
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
19 Years and older
Sex
Female
01

Study summary

This study seeks to answer the question of the effect of maternal diet during lactation on breast milk composition. This study was conducted with 31 mothers who were hospitalized in Şanlıurfa Education and Research Hospital due to childbirth between 2024-2025. A nutrition plan was applied to the mothers three days before milk samples were taken and on milking days. Milk was milked by hand milking. Data were obtained with the Introductory Information Form, Breast Milk Information Form, Breast Milk Follow-up Form and Daily Food Consumption Record Form. Frozen milk samples were analyzed with Miris® HMATM to determine protein, fat, carbohydrate and energy values. Data were analyzed using the R programming language version 4.4.1.

Read the detailed description

Breast milk is the best source of nutrition for infants because it contains essential nutrients and other bioactive factors (e.g., hormones, antibodies, bioactive molecules, stem cells) in the right balance. The macronutrient values in breast milk of mature term babies have been reported as protein 0.9-1.2 gr/dl, fat 3.2-3.6 gr/dl, lactose 6.7-7.8 gr/dl. . It is known that exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months of life and breastfeeding with complementary foods at two years of age and beyond is associated with a reduced incidence of infections and chronic diseases . Studies have shown that breastfeeding has short- and long-term benefits and protective effects. It is known that breast milk protects the baby from chronic diseases, especially Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, hyperlipidemia and some types of cancer , has positive effects on the cognitive development of the baby , and this effect continues for many years. These protective effects are controversial and may differ according to maternal phenotypes . Compared to infant formulas with standardized compositions, the composition of breast milk changes dynamically because it is produced by women with significantly different genotypes and phenotypes . The composition of breast milk is affected by many maternal, infant and physiological factors. Some of these factors vary according to whether the baby is term or preterm, whether the milk is colostrum secreted in the first 5 days after birth, transitional milk secreted between 5 days and 2 weeks, and mature milk produced after the 2nd week, the mother's nutritional status, body mass index, parity, gender of the baby, birth weight of the baby, duration of breastfeeding, and the method of milk delivery (expressing/breastfeeding), etc.. However, the effect of maternal nutrition on breast milk composition has not been well defined. There are some limitations in previous studies evaluating the relationship between maternal factors and breast milk composition. These include the lack of standard milk expression protocols, no specific time (time of day, foremilk or hindmilk) for expressing milk samples , and exclusive breastfeeding or the lack of information on the analysis of milk composition. In addition, most of the existing studies were conducted in the 1980s and 1990s and did not use separate up-to-date analyzers for protein, fat and lactose for milk composition analysis. Bzikowska-Jura et al., (2018) investigated the relationship between maternal nutrition and breast milk composition. However, in this study, mothers used a mix of hand and manual milking methods and the time elapsed since the baby's last feeding, which is another factor that may affect the content of breast milk, was not specified. Due to all these methodological differences, the effect of maternal diet on breast milk composition has not been clarified. These limitations may affect the actual assessment of these relationships. In this context, our study seeks answers to the effect of maternal diet on breast milk composition.

02

Conditions studied

  • Breastmilk
  • Breastmilk Expression
  • Maternal Nutrition

Keywords

  • human milk
  • maternal nutrition
  • lactation
  • breastmilk
03

In context

Breast Milk Expression

88 studies on the registry are indexed under Breast Milk Expression; 20 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 31 is below the median of 60 across 49 interventional studies indexed under Breast Milk Expression.

Browse Breast Milk Expression studies →

Lead sponsor

Sakarya University is the lead sponsor of 190 studies on the registry; 53 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
19 Years and older
Sexes eligible
Female
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • - The mother is primigravida
  • The mother has given birth naturally
  • The mother is only breastfeeding her baby
  • The mother is over 19 years old
  • The mother's is within normal values (18.5 to 24.9)

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • The mother wants to quit her job.
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(1)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

BMI (body mass index)

Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.

What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Supportive care
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
31 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    hand expressing breast milk

    Manual milking: Milk was expressed by hand until the milk flow stopped at the mother's breast. While the baby was suckling from one breast, milking was done from the other breast, and a 10 cc sample was taken from the collected milk and placed in sterile fallopian tubes.

    Other: Manual breast milk expression

Interventions

  • OtherManual breast milk expression

    Manual breast milk expression: Milk was expressed by hand until the milk flow stopped at the mother's breast. While the baby was suckling from one breast, milk was expressed from the other breast, and a 10 cc sample was taken from the collected milk and placed in sterile fallopian tubes. The mothers' food records were analyzed for 3 days before the milk sample was taken and on the day the milk sample was taken.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Energy of breast milk as measured by Miris® HMA™ analyzer

    Breast milk samples collected from each mother (10 mL) were stored at -18 °C and later thawed by a Nutrition and Dietetics researcher at 0-4 °C within 24 hours in the Nutrition and Dietetics Department Laboratory. To ensure reliability, each milk sample was analyzed twice. The energy content of the mature breast milk-energy (kcal/100 mL)-was determined using the Miris® Human Milk Analyzer™ (Miris AB, Uppsala, Sweden). The analysis results were recorded in the Breast Milk Tracking Form. "Breast milk energy content (kcal/100 mL), measured using Miris® Human Milk Analyzer Unit of Measure.

    Time frame: Postpartum 23rd day

  2. Protein of breast milk as measured by Miris® HMA™ analyzer

    Breast milk samples collected from each mother (10 mL) were stored at -18 °C and later thawed by a Nutrition and Dietetics researcher at 0-4 °C within 24 hours in the Nutrition and Dietetics Department Laboratory. To ensure reliability, each milk sample was analyzed twice. The Protein content of the mature breast milk-protein (g/100 mL)-was determined using the Miris® Human Milk Analyzer™ (Miris AB, Uppsala, Sweden). The analysis results were recorded in the Breast Milk Tracking Form. "Breast milk protein content (g/100 mL), measured using Miris® Human Milk Analyzer Unit of Measure.

    Time frame: Postpartum 23rd day

  3. Fat of breast milk as measured by Miris® HMA™ analyzer

    Breast milk samples collected from each mother (10 mL) were stored at -18 °C and later thawed by a Nutrition and Dietetics researcher at 0-4 °C within 24 hours in the Nutrition and Dietetics Department Laboratory. To ensure reliability, each milk sample was analyzed twice. The fat content of the mature breast milk-fat (g/100 mL)-was determined using the Miris® Human Milk Analyzer™ (Miris AB, Uppsala, Sweden). The analysis results were recorded in the Breast Milk Tracking Form. "Breast milk fat content (g/100 mL), measured using Miris® Human Milk Analyzer Unit of Measure.

    Time frame: Postpartum 23rd day

  4. Carbohydrate of breast milk as measured by Miris® HMA™ analyzer

    Breast milk samples collected from each mother (10 mL) were stored at -18 °C and later thawed by a Nutrition and Dietetics researcher at 0-4 °C within 24 hours in the Nutrition and Dietetics Department Laboratory. To ensure reliability, each milk sample was analyzed twice. The Carbohydrate content of the mature breast milk-Carbohydrate (g/100 mL)-was determined using the Miris® Human Milk Analyzer™ (Miris AB, Uppsala, Sweden). The analysis results were recorded in the Breast Milk Tracking Form. "Breast milk Carbohydrate content (g/100 mL), measured using Miris® Human Milk Analyzer Unit of Measure.

    Time frame: Postpartum 23rd day

  5. Daily maternal energy intake (kcal/day), calculated using BeBiS 8.0

    Maternal food intake was assessed using the 24-Hour Food Consumption Record form. Data were analyzed using the Nutrition Information System (BeBiS 8.0), a software program adapted to Turkish dietary habits. Energy intake was calculated in kilocalories and reported as average daily intake. Protein: grams/100 mL Energy: kcal/100 mL 24-Hour Dietary Recall Form

    Time frame: postpartum days 20, 21, and 22

  6. Daily maternal protein intake (gram/day), calculated using BeBiS 8.0

    Maternal food intake was assessed using the 24-Hour Food Consumption Record form. Data were analyzed using the Nutrition Information System (BeBiS 8.0), a software program adapted to Turkish dietary habits. Protein: grams/100 mL 24-Hour Dietary Recall Form

    Time frame: postpartum days 20, 21, and 22

  7. Daily maternal fat intake (gram/day), calculated using BeBiS 8.0

    Maternal food intake was assessed using the 24-Hour Food Consumption Record form. Data were analyzed using the Nutrition Information System (BeBiS 8.0), a software program adapted to Turkish dietary habits. Fat: grams/100 mL 24-Hour Dietary Recall Form

    Time frame: postpartum days 20, 21, and 22

  8. Daily maternal Carbohydrate intake (gram/day), calculated using BeBiS 8.0

    Maternal food intake was assessed using the 24-Hour Food Consumption Record form. Data were analyzed using the Nutrition Information System (BeBiS 8.0), a software program adapted to Turkish dietary habits. Carbohydrate : grams/100 mL 24-Hour Dietary Recall Form

    Time frame: postpartum days 20, 21, and 22

Secondary outcomes

  1. The correlation between maternal dietary intake protein and protein content of breast milk

    The correlation between maternal dietary intake protein, and protein content of breast milk will be assessed using Pearson correlation analysis. Each dietary variable will be compared to its respective breast milk component.

    Time frame: Between matched maternal-milk pairs after the 23rd day postpartum

  2. The correlation between maternal dietary intake energy and energy content of breast milk

    The correlation between maternal dietary intake energy, and energy content of breast milk will be assessed using Pearson correlation analysis. Each dietary variable will be compared to its respective breast milk component.

    Time frame: Between matched maternal-milk pairs after the 23rd day postpartum

  3. The correlation between maternal dietary intake fat and fat content of breast milk

    The correlation between maternal dietary intake fat and fat content of breast milk will be assessed using Pearson correlation analysis. Each dietary variable will be compared to its respective breast milk component.

    Time frame: Between matched maternal-milk pairs after the 23rd day postpartum

  4. The correlation between maternal dietary intake Carbohydrate and Carbohydrate content of breast milk

    The correlation between maternal dietary intake Carbohydrate and Carbohydrate content of breast milk will be assessed using Pearson correlation analysis. Each dietary variable will be compared to its respective breast milk component.

    Time frame: Between matched maternal-milk pairs after the 23rd day postpartum

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Harran University
    Sanliurfa, Turkey (Türkiye)
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No — THE STUDY MAY BE PUBLISHED AFTER IT IS PUBLISHED

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jun 25, 2025, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07036094
Lead sponsor
Sakarya University
Collaborators
Health Institutes of Turkey
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Jun 25, 2025
Start date
Aug 30, 2023
Primary completion
Feb 28, 2025
Completion
Feb 28, 2025
Last update
Jun 25, 2025

Study contacts

Hülya Karataş, Professor
study director · Harran University

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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