Introduction:

Breast milk exhibits significant nutritional variations between the initial and hind-stages of a single feeding. Initial-stage milk (expressed at the beginning of expression) is characterized by higher water content, lactose, and immunoglobulins, while hind-stage milk (expressed at the end of the feeding) contains significantly higher concentrations of lipids and greater caloric density, constituting the main energy source for the infant. Characterizing these differences is fundamental to optimizing its use in neonatal feeding.

Objective:

To analyze the nutritional composition, specifically fat content and caloric density, of breast milk, comparing the differences between the initial and hind-stages to promote its optimal use in term and preterm newborns.

Materials and Methods:

We conducted a comparative, descriptive, analytical and observational study at a milk bank from June to December 2024. One hundred breast milk samples (50 initial and 50 hind-stage) from healthy donors were analyzed. Fat content was determined using crematorium chloride, and caloric density was calculated using standard formulas. Descriptive statistics and correlation analysis were applied, with significance set at p < 0.05. Results: hind-stage milk showed a significantly higher fat content (4.8 ± 1.2 g/dL) compared to initial-stage milk (2.1 ± 0.8 g/dL) (p < 0.001). Caloric density was higher in hind-stage milk (610 ± 85 kcal/L) versus initial-stage milk (430 ± 65 kcal/L) (p < 0.001). A significant positive correlation was found between fat content and energy value (r = 0.89, p < 0.001).

Conclusions:

Hind-stage milk has a significantly higher nutritional composition in terms of fat content and caloric density, justifying differentiated classification protocols to optimize neonatal feeding according to specific needs.

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