engleski

Dietary intake of Croatian lactating women

Nutritional inadequacies during lactation may affect the well-being of both the mother and the infant. For this reason, breast-feeding women usually pay attention to their dietary practice during the breast-feeding period. The aim of this study was to examine changes in dietary intake of Croatian lactating women during six months postpartum. The study sample consisted of 83 lactating women whose diet records were collected at three measurements rounds: at 1 ± 0.25, 3 ± 0.25 and 6 ± 0.25 months postpartum. The mothers´ diets were investigated using two consecutive 24-hour dietary recalls. Energy and nutrient intakes were estimated using a nutritional database. The obtained results have shown that the diet of Croatian lactating women is hypocaloric (65.73 – 79.52 % DRI, p < 0.001) and deficient in magnesium, zinc, vitamins A, B1, B6, D and folate. Also evident was a moderate imbalance in the distribution of energy percentages from macronutrients. During six months postpartum, lactating women continuously decreased food intake resulting in a gradual decrease in energy intake (p < 0.001) and in the intake of all micronutrients. However, during six months postpartum, lactating women increased the share of total fat in energy intake (p = 0.006) and the share of saturated fatty acids (p = 0.048), while the share of monounsaturated fatty acids in total energy intake decreased (p = 0.004). It could be concluded that it is worthwhile to further study the nutritional status of Croatian lactating women during this vulnerable period especially regarding their micronutrients intake in order to achieve the recommended dietary requirements.

lactating women; macronutrients; micronutrients; nutrient intakes; 24-hour recall

nije evidentirano