THE EFFECT OF NURSING MOTHERS’ DIET ON BREAST MILK COMPOSITION

Breast milk is the most balanced food for infants. It contains all the essential nutrients, biologically active compounds, and protective antibodies that a child should receive during the first years of life. The development of the baby is directly dependent on the mother’s milk and its quality is due to the health of the mother and the quality of her nutrition. The objective of this article is to popularize information about the benefits of breast milk, to confirm or disprove the correlations between the composition of breast milk and the diet of the nursing mother. The article discusses the results of the studies conducted to determine the effect of various components of the nursing mother’s diet on the contents of fatty acids, proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals in breast milk. In addition, there are practical recommendations for optimizing the nutritional status of the nursing mothers to improve the quality of breast milk by enriching it with essential nutrients and antibodies. All these recommendations may be used to ensure the best possible start in life for newborns. The study also highlights the need for information support for the nursing mothers from health and social services, and the importance of further research in this area aimed at developing and improving nutritional recommendations in the future. Conclusion: Healthy and balanced diet contributes not only to the overall health of the mother, but it also significantly affects the quality of breast milk by increasing its content in vital vitamins and micronutrients. This is especially important for the development and growth of the child, for ensuring the child’s needs for these substances in the first stages of life. The consumption of a variety of foods rich in essential vitamins and micronutrients should be a priority for nursing mothers. Moreover, it is possible to use vitamin and mineral complexes, when necessary, according to the doctor’s recommendation. These complexes will enrich breast milk with all the necessary nutrients, supporting the health and balanced development of the child. © A group of authors, 2024.