Unlike infant formula, which is standardized within a very narrow range of composition, human milk composition is dynamic, and varies within a feeding, diurnally, over lactation, and between mothers and populations. 3 Here, we briefly review the nutritional composition of human milk and provide an overview of its varied bioactive factors, which include cells, anti-infectious and anti-inflammatory agents, growth factors, and prebiotics.
1, 2 Human milk is uniquely suited to the human infant, both in its nutritional composition and in the non-nutritive bioactive factors that promote survival and healthy development. This article provides an overview of the composition of human milk, sources of its variation, and its clinical relevance.Įxclusive human milk feeding for the first 6 months of life, with continued breastfeeding for 1 to 2 years of life or longer, is recognized as the normative standard for infant feeding. Many milk proteins are degraded by heat treatment and freeze-thaw cycles may not have the same bioactivity after undergoing these treatments.
express and freeze their milk at some point in lactation for future infant feedings. Pasteurized donor milk is now commonly provided to high risk infants and most mothers in the U.S. Feeding infants with expressed human milk is increasing. A dynamic, bioactive fluid, human milk changes in composition from colostrum to late lactation, and varies within feeds, diurnally, and between mothers. Some of these molecules, e.g., lactoferrin, are being investigated as novel therapeutic agents. Human milk also contains many hundreds to thousands of distinct bioactive molecules that protect against infection and inflammation and contribute to immune maturation, organ development, and healthy microbial colonization. The composition of human milk is the biologic norm for infant nutrition.
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