Introduction: Women have an increased need of folate in the breastfeeding period and, as a consequence, may be in risk of having a negative folate balance. Elevated total homocysteine in plasma (P-tHcy) is a sensitive marker for deficiency of folate, B6, and B12 vitamins and a risk factor for developing cardiovascular disease. We examined whether there is a difference in P-tHcy among breastfeeding mothers depending on folic acid supplement and compared these results to women from the background population.
Material and methods: A total of 20 breastfeeding mothers had their plasma homocysteine content and their erythrocyte folate content measured through a standard blood sampling procedure in their homes. Half of the mothers took a folic acid supplement. The background population was age-matched, non-pregnant, and non-lactating women from a previous Danish study.
Results: The group of breastfeeding mothers who did not take folic acid supplements had a higher prevalence of elevated P-tHcy (70%) both than the group of breastfeeding mothers who took folic acid supplements (30%) and than the background population (33%). The difference between P-tHcy in the group of breastfeeding mothers who did not take folic acid supplements and the group of breastfeeding mothers who took folic acid supplements was non-significant (p = 0.12). However, we found a statistically significant difference between the group of breastfeeding mothers who did not take folic acid supplements and the background population (p = 0.02).
Discussion: Our study suggests that there is a significant fraction of Danish breastfeeding mothers in negative folate balance resulting in elevated P-tHcy compared to the background population.