Variations of Human Milk Compositions as per Prakriti (Psychosomatic Constitution): A Pilot Study

Abstract

Introduction: Mother's milk is considered to be the supreme food for neonates, infants and toddler. It is also regarded as the finest gift form a mother to her baby. The individual characteristic of a person enumerating external and internal body features is known as Prakriti. It is the sense of personality or constitution or temperament of an individual. The aim of the present study was to assess "variations of human milk composition as per Prakriti”. Materials and Methods: Total 64 lactating mothers of 20-35 years age group, not suffering from any acute or chronic illness and who were on similar diet regardless of their mode of delivery were registered and included in the study while lactating mothers not falling in this age group or who were taking any specific drug for the illness or suffering from any disease including- moderate (9.97-7 g/dl) to severe (6.94-4 g/dl) anemia were excluded from the study. Result: On applying One Way ANOVA, the mean values of fat percentage in milk varied significantly as per Prakriti (p = 0.0287). On applying Post Hoc Test the significant pairs were for Vata vs. Pitta (<0.05) and Vata vs Kapha (<0.05) Prakriti. In all other parameters of milk, no significant variation was found. Conclusion: We can conclude that the composition of mother's milk varies as per Prakriti