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Micronutrient supplement good for lactating mothers

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By Celina Ann Z. Javier
FNRI-DOST S&T Media Service

Breastmilk is the perfect food for babies from birth until six months because it contains all the nutrients needed by the infant during this critical period.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends exclusive breastfeeding for infants from birth to six months and sustaining breastfeeding up to two years of age, while giving appropriate complementary food starting from the sixth month onwards.

However, many mothers do not practice exclusive breastfeeding especially during the first six months for a number of reasons. Some mothers can’t breastfeed because of health problems, like being infected with HIV, AIDS, tuberculosis, and lymphoma or have inverted nipples.

Other mothers do not breastfeed because of a number of invalid reasons, like being too busy to breastfeed or sometimes because of the pain that comes with breastfeeding. Another common reason is that mothers do not have enough milk because of being underweight or being stressed.

According to the 2011 Updating of Nutritional Status of Filipinos, a survey conducted by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (FNRI-DOST), 1 out of 10 lactating mothers are undernourished.

Lactating mothers are at-risk of being underweight because of increased requirement for nutrients due to the additional need to produce breastmilk without depleting the nutrient in their tissues. Nutrient supplementation is one of the ways for mothers to meet the additional nutritional requirements.

Mr. Michael E. Serafico, Senior Science Research Specialist of the FNRI-DOST, conducted a study to determine the effect of multiple micronutrient supplementation to breastmilk nutrients of lactating mothers.

In this study, three groups of pregnant mothers were given supplements. The first group was given multiple micronutrient content, the second group with folic acid and iron and the third group with iron only. Breastmilk was collected from the mothers and analyzed for retinol or vitamin A, iron, and zinc.

Based on the results, mothers who received multiple micronutrient had the highest vitamin A, iron, and zinc concentration in their breastmilk, while those who received iron only had the lowest nutrient concentration.

The study suggested giving multiple micronutrient supplements to pregnant and lactating mothers.

Presently, only 14.3 percent of pregnant mothers take multivitamins with iron while 82.2 percent take iron supplements, based on the 2011 Updating Survey by the FNRI-DOST.

This study demonstrated that taking multiple micronutrient supplements can result to quality breastmilk thus giving such to pregnant and lactating mothers is encouraged.

In addition to nutrient supplements, the FNRI-DOST recommends that pregnant and lactating mothers should consume a variety of food to ensure getting enough nutrients.


For more information on food and nutrition contact: Dr. Mario V. Capanzana, Director, Food and Nutrition Research Institute, Department of Science and Technology, General Santos Avenue, Bicutan, Taguig City. E-mail: mcv@fnri.dost.gov.ph, Telefax: 837-2934 and 827-3164, or call: 8372071 local 2296 or visit our website: http://www.fnri.dost.gov.ph. 
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