Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Erzurum Regional Training and Research Hospital, Erzurum, Türkiye.
Atatürk University Faculty of Health Sciences, Erzurum, Türkiye.
Breastfeed Med. 2023 Jun;18(6):462-468. doi: 10.1089/bfm.2023.0006.
Maternal stress can lead to changes in the composition of human breast milk. The present study evaluates cortisol levels in the breast milk of mothers after giving birth preterm, term, or post-term, and ascertains whether the levels are associated with maternal stress. Included in the study were mothers who gave birth vaginally after 32 weeks of gestation between January and April 2022. The breast milk was expressed with an electronic pump under the supervision of a nurse on day 7 following birth, and 2 mL samples of the milk were transferred into microtubes and stored at -80°C. Stress in the mothers was measured using the perceived stress scale developed by Cohen et al. The human breast milk cortisol levels were determined using an enzyme-linked immunoassay in a single session. A total of 90 mothers, including 30 with preterm births, 38 with term births, and 22 with post-term births, were included in the study. The median stress scale score was 28 (17-50) and the median breast milk cortisol level was 0.49 ng/mL (0.1-1.96 ng/mL). A significant positive correlation was noted between the stress scale scores and breast milk cortisol levels ( = 0.56, < 0.01). The breast milk cortisol levels and maternal stress scale scores were significantly higher in the preterm birth group than in the term birth group ( = 0.011 and = 0.013, respectively). Although there is an association between maternal stress and preterm labor and milk cortisol levels, we believe that more studies are needed to establish a causal link.
产妇压力可导致人乳成分改变。本研究评估了早产、足月和过期产产妇产后母乳中皮质醇水平，并确定其是否与产妇压力有关。研究纳入了 2022 年 1 月至 4 月期间经阴道分娩且妊娠 32 周以上的产妇。产后第 7 天，在护士监督下使用电动泵挤奶，将 2ml 奶样转移至微量离心管中，于-80°C 保存。采用 Cohen 等开发的感知压力量表评估产妇压力。采用酶联免疫吸附试验在单次检测中测定人乳皮质醇水平。本研究共纳入 90 例产妇，其中早产组 30 例，足月产组 38 例，过期产组 22 例。产妇压力量表评分中位数为 28（17-50），母乳皮质醇中位数为 0.49ng/ml（0.1-1.96ng/ml）。压力量表评分与母乳皮质醇水平呈显著正相关（ = 0.56， < 0.01）。早产组母乳皮质醇水平和产妇压力量表评分均显著高于足月产组（ = 0.011 和 = 0.013）。虽然产妇压力与早产和母乳皮质醇水平之间存在关联，但我们认为还需要更多研究来确定因果关系。
