Q: Is the consumption of skimmed milk sufficient enough during lactation instead of whole milk?

A:The nutritional demand on the mother is great during lactation. The nutritional relationship between the mother and child continues for some more time after delivery. The newborn baby is given only breast milk for first 3 months of life so the mothers diet should be adequate with all needed nutrients. Skimmed milk is prepared by removing the fat from whole milk. This type of milk has as much fat as possible removed: It may not contain more than 0.5% milk fat by weight, and usually contains less than half a gram of fat per cup, deriving just 5% of its calories from fat. Skim milk has about half the calories of whole milk. It is the best choice for most adults, and is the only type of milk that should be consumed by people on strict low-fat diets. Unfortunately, skim milk has a very thin flavour. Skimmed milk has only 2.5gms of protein, 29 kcal of energy, 120mgs of calcium, 90mgs of phosphorous and most importantly fat be only 0.1gms per 100 ml. Vitamin A and other fat-soluble vitamins are removed apart from fat and this form is not preferred during lactation and for infants and young children. Protein, sugar, minerals and vitamin B factors (except pyrodoxine) are reasonably well preserved. Full cream, or whole milk, has the full milk fat content (about 3-4%). It would be preferable to consume whole milk for the first three months of lactation. Whole milk is recommended to provide sufficient fat during lactation and for developing toddlers who have graduated from breast milk or infant formula. It is crucial for growth and proper development. Infants should never been placed on a fat-restricted diet. If skimmed milk powder is supplemented with vitamin A, D and pyridoxine, it is a comparatively cheap food of high nutritive value. Since the fat is removed it is suitable for many therapeutic conditions like, diabetic, obesity, high cholesterol, heart diseases, hypertension etc. If you have gained a lot of pregnancy it would be best to keep in check all high fat foods like ghee, butter, mithais etc, if you are going to consume whole milk. The addition of about 6 tablespoons of skimmed milk powder during the preparation of chapattis, custard, curd, etc will supply an additional 35 Gms of protein and calcium without the fat. Your weight gain should be monitored. As soon as the baby has switched over to other food, you should reduce your calorie intake, and can then switch to skimmed milk.