Skip to main content
NUTRITION 2026 Main banner

(PTFS04-05-26) Maternal Health, Stress, and Diet: Effects on Human Milk Nutrient and Metabolomic Content

Sunday, July 26, 2026
8:16 AM - 8:20 AM ET
Location: Prince George's Hall B-E (The Hub) - Poster Theater 1 / Poster Board Number: PT1-5

    Presenting Author(s)

  • LR

    Lewis P. Rubin, MD

    Professor
    Georgetown University Medical Center
    Washington, District of Columbia, United States

    Disclosure(s): No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

    • Co-Author(s)

  • LC

    Loredana L. Cunningham

    MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, United States

  • SD

    Sejal G. Dave

    MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, United States

  • JP

    Julia A. Perry

    Georgetown University School of Medicine, United States

  • CG

    Claire M. Gallibois

    MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, United States

Disclosure(s):
Lewis P. Rubin, MD: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.
Objectives: Prospective longitudinal study of mother/high-risk infant dyads to determine impacts of maternal dietary and health factors on human milk (HM) composition.

Methods: Enrolled lactating mothers of newborns admitted to a Level IV NICU completed up to 3 rounds of testing, each >2 weeks apart: dietary assessments (ASA24); stress/depression questionnaires; skin carotenoid measurements (reflection spectrometry); and salivary stress/inflammation markers. Mid-morning expressed HM aliquots were analyzed for energy/macronutrient content (mid-infrared spectroscopy), global metabolite profiling (UHPLC-MS/MS), and carotenoid content (HPLC). Regression models were used to compare dietary and HM macronutrients. For metabolomic data, we used Welch's 2-sample t-tests to compare group means, q-value (false discovery rate) adjustments for testing 100s of compounds, and pathway analyses.

Results: 30 mothers have been enrolled: median age, 34 years (range 21-45); newborns' gestation, 32 weeks (22-39); BMI, 28.5 kg/m2 (17.5-49.1); 26.6% of mothers had a behavioral health diagnosis and 17% had diabetes. During lactation, HM protein decreased from 1.55 to 1.1 g/dL (p=0.012). Improving maternal Healthy Eating Index (HEI) was significantly associated with greater HM protein. Carotenoid intake, skin measurements, and HM content were linked. Metabolomic profiling detected 861 HM metabolites; 766 were identifiable using authenticated standards including amino acids, sugars (and HMOs), lipids, cholines, phytonutrients, vitamins, and xenobiotics. HM branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) and BCAA keto-acid derivatives were elevated in maternal gestational diabetes during early but not in later stage lactation, consistent with a postpartum resolution of metabolic dysfunction. Multiple differences in micronutrients/bioactives were associated with maternal intakes, HEI scores, and diabetes.

Conclusions: This study extends knowledge of influences of maternal diet and health factors on HM content including micronutrients and brain/meatabolically-important compounds. Maternal dietary assessments and nutritional interventions for mothers especially of high-risk infants may improve HM composition and, thereby, infant growth and neurodevelopment.

Funding Sources: Tano Research Fund, MedStar Health Research Institute