Abstract:
As breast milk is normally the only source of food in the early stages of life, the
dietary levels of the essential elements in the milk of lactating mothers are significantly important.
Ethiopia is a country of many nations and nationalities with distinct dietary habits. This variation in
food habit may result in the variation of the nutritional quality of milk of lactating mothers who live in
different part of the country, which in turn may affect the intake of nutrients by breast-fed infants.
Therefore, a cross-sectional study of the levels of Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn and Cu in milk of mothers from
societies with cereal and ‘enset’ based dietary habits was carried out to assess the influence of
maternal diet on the levels of the elements in human milk.
METHODS: Milk samples were collected from 27 voluntary mothers in Jimma and in 18 rural areas
of Welkite. Breast milk samples were collected within four days postpartum and the concentrations of
the elements were determined by using FAAS.
RESULTS: Average concentrations (mg/L) of the elements determined in the milk of mothers from
Jimma and rural Welkite respectively were: Ca (758 ± 107, 579 ± 168); Mg (22.6 ± 7.87, 30.5 ± 13.4);
Fe (0.50 ± 0.08, 0.41 ± 0.17); Zn (2.3 ± 1.2, 2.49 ± 0.88) and Cu (0.28 ± 0.14, 0.16 ± 0.08).
CONCLUSIONS: Milk samples from Jimma were found to have significantly higher levels of Ca and
Cu than those of rural Welkite (P < 0.05). Breast milk Ca and Cu levels were thus found to be
influenced by dietary intake.
