American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 46, 694-698, Copyright © 1987 by The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc

ORIGINAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS

Dietary selenium intake and selenium concentrations of plasma, erythrocytes, and breast milk in pregnant and postpartum lactating and nonlactating women

OA Levander, PB Moser and VC Morris
Vitamin and Mineral Nutrition Laboratory, Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center, Beltsville, MD 20705.

The selenium status of a group of 23 lactating and 13 nonlactating women was assessed from 37-wk gestation through 6-mo postpartum. The mean overall dietary Se intake of both groups of women was 80 +/- 37 micrograms/d. Plasma and erythrocyte Se levels were lower in the lactating than in the nonlactating mothers both before and after parturition. Breast-milk Se concentrations fell from 20 micrograms/L (0.25 mumol/L) at 1-mo postpartum to 15 micrograms/L (0.19 mumol/L) at 3- and 6-mo postpartum. A weak (r = 0.38) but statistically significant (p less than 0.025) relationship was observed between maternal plasma Se level and breast-milk Se concentration. The dietary Se intake of these lactating North American women appears sufficient to maintain satisfactory Se nutriture in their breast-fed infants during the first 6 mo of lactation.

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