Vitamin A and vitamin E concentration of the milk from mothers of pre-term infants and milk of mothers of full term infants.

The vitamin E, vitamin A and beta carotene concentrations of milk, from eight mothers delivering premature infants and ten mothers delivering full term infants were determined and compared. Milk samples were collected three times per day on days 3, 9, 15, 21, 27 and 33 postpartum. Dietary records were kept on days 2-3, 14-15, and 32-33. There was no significant difference in vitamin E, vitamin A and beta carotene levels between the two groups. The mean retinol concentration was higher in the milk of mothers of premature infants on all days except day three. The highest mean carotene and retinol concentrations in the milk of mothers of full terms infants were on day three: but the peak occurred in the preterm group on day nine and did not drop as rapidly as the milk retinol of the full term group. The milk of mothers of fullterm infants, day 3 vitamin E concentration was significantly higher than days, 15, 21, 27 and 33 postpartum. There were no significant differences in the dietary intake of the full term and preterm groups. The amount of vitamin E in the milk was not affected by dietary vitamin E intake of the subjects regardless of gestational age of the infant. More research is needed to determine the exact quantity of vitamin A and E ingested by the premature infants if breastfed by their respective mothers.