Folate content of human milk during early lactational stages

Folate content of human milk was determined in early transitional milk (4–7 days postpartum), transitional milk (10–14 days postpartum) and mature milk (36–45 days postpartum). Mature milk contained a mean total folate level of 4.9 μg/100 g. No diurnal variations were observed. At each stage, total folate was significantly higher (p<.05) than free folate. As lactation progressed to the mature milk stage, both free and total folate increased significantly (p<.05). The percentage of folate in the free form decreased as length of lactation increased. Based on folate levels determined in this study, a one month old breast-fed infant would have a folate intake of 6.7 μg/kg/day which is somewhat higher than the recommended dietary allowance for infants of 5 μg/kg/day.