Time intervals between pumping did not affect breastmilk protein produced by mothers of preterm infants.

AIM: Few studies investigate factors that might influence the content of expressed breastmilk. This study aims to investigate the influence of the intervals between breastmilk pumping and the time of the day on protein and fat concentration in breastmilk.

METHODS: Mothers of very preterm infants in a neonatal ward who expressed more than 400 mL per day were included. Expressed breastmilk was obtained from each mother over 30 h who were pumping at strictly planned and varying intervals: 2, 3, 4 and 6 h. All samples were analysed using infrared transmission spectroscopy.

RESULTS: Ten mothers participated at a median of 22 days postpartum. A total of 176 milk samples were analysed, and the average protein and fat concentrations in g/100 mL were 1.1 ± 0.23 and 4.2 ± 1.3, respectively. The time intervals between breast pumping sessions did not impact protein content, but fat content decreased by longer intervals (p < 0.01). The time of the day for milk pumping did not influence the protein or fat content.

CONCLUSION: A single milk sample collected after any 2-6 h interval, at any time during the day, represents the protein content in the breastmilk, but not the fat content which decreased with longer intervals.