Impact of a single megadose of vitamin A at delivery on breastmilk of mothers and morbidity of their infants

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of vitamin A supplementation 24 h after delivery on breastmilk retinol concentration. Methods: Fifty low income women were randomly assigned to a single oral dose of 209 μmol of Vitamin A or none at delivery. Maternal serum and breastmilk retinol levels and infant morbidity and anthropometry were serially assessed. Results: Mean (95% CI) serum retinol levels increased in the supplemented mothers at 2.77 (2.3, 3.2) compared to 1.15 (0.9, 1.4) μmol/l in controls (PPPPPP<0.002). Conclusion: Vitamin A supplementation of malnourished mothers maintains higher breastmilk retinol concentration for at least six months and reduces the duration of respiratory tract infection and febrile illness in their breastfed infants. Sponsorship: The study was supported by the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research and the United States Agency for International Development.