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Human milk pH is associated with fortification, postpartum day, and maternal dietary intake in preterm mother-infant dyads

Journal of Perinatology volume 43, pages 60–67 (2023)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Objective

To compare pH of human milk types (mother’s own milk (MOM), pasteurized donor human milk (PDHM), fortified MOM, and fortified PDHM) fed to preterm infants.

Study design

This observational study consisted of 63 mother-infant dyads < 34 weeks gestation. Human milk samples (n = 245), along with maternal factors, were collected for pH analysis. pH of MOM was analyzed over the course of lactation accounting for fortification status, postpartum day, and storage conditions.

Results

Mean pH of MOM was slightly acidic at 6.60 ± 0.28, which was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than other milk types. pH of MOM varied by fortification, postpartum day, and maternal vegetable/fiber intake. There was a significant interaction between fortification status and postpartum day; pH of MOM decreased over time, while pH of fortified MOM increased over time.

Conclusion

pH of human milk varied by type. pH of MOM was significantly associated with fortification status, postpartum day, and maternal vegetable/fiber intake.

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Fig. 1: The pH of human milk by type and fortification status.
Fig. 2: The Effect of PPD on the pH of MOM and Fortified MOM.

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Data availability

All data were collected with permission to make publicly available. The authors will share de-identified data upon request without any restrictions.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge Tina Steele for assisting with subject recruitment and Emily Woods for assisting with sample processing.

Funding

This work was supported by the NIH grant R21NR017256 (Gregory).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Evgenia Jen Filatava, Nicolette E. Overton, Robert Glynn & Katherine E. Gregory

  2. Boston College, Boston, MA, USA

    Evgenia Jen Filatava, Colleen E. Shelly, Matt Gregas & Katherine E. Gregory

Authors
  1. Evgenia Jen Filatava
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  2. Colleen E. Shelly
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  3. Nicolette E. Overton
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  4. Matt Gregas
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Contributions

EJF, CES, and KEG contributed to the conception and design of the study. EJF and NEO acquired the data, and EJF, CES, MG, RG, and KEG carried out data analysis. EJF, CES, NEO, MG, and KEG drafted the manuscript, and all authors critically revised the manuscript, provided feedback, and gave their final approval.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Katherine E. Gregory.

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Competing interests

KEG is a consultant for Astarte Medical. No other authors declare any competing interests in conducting or reporting this work.

Ethics approval

The study protocol and all study procedures, including written informed consent, were reviewed and approved by the Mass General Brigham Human Research Committee (protocol # 2016P001020). This study was performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.

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Filatava, E.J., Shelly, C.E., Overton, N.E. et al. Human milk pH is associated with fortification, postpartum day, and maternal dietary intake in preterm mother-infant dyads. J Perinatol 43, 60–67 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-022-01492-5

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