Nutritional Status and Iron Intake Are Not Associated With Breast Milk Iron Levels in Breastfeeding Mothers With 0-6 Months Old Baby in Seluma Regency

Exclusive breastfeeding can reduce the risk of anemia in infants, even though the iron content in breast milk is low, the absorption rate of iron is quite high.The nutritional content of breast milk can be influenced by the mother's diet and nutritional status.This study aims to determine the relationship between nutritional status and iron intake with breast milk iron levels in breastfeeding mothers of infants aged 0-6 months.This study was an analytic observational study with a cross-sectional approach conducted in Seluma Regency.The population in this study were all breastfeeding mothers of infants aged 0-6 months.A total of 78 people were taken with the purposive sampling technique.Nutritional status was obtained by measuring height and weight and calculated by the Body Mass Index formula.Iron intake was measured using the Semi-Quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire method for the last 1 month, while the measurement of breast milk iron levels was carried out by the spectrophotometric method.Data on characteristics were obtained using a questionnaire.Furthermore, the data were analyzed univariately and bivariately.Nutritional status measurements showed that 87.2% of breastfeeding mothers had normal nutritional status.Iron intake data showed that 82.1% of breastfeeding mothers had low iron intake and the results of measuring Fe levels in breast milk showed that only 16.6% had low breast milk iron levels .The results showed that there was no significant relationship between nutritional status with Fe levels in breast milk (p=0.762>0.05)and iron intake with Fe levels in breast milk (p=0.291).Nutritional status and iron intake are not associated with breast milk iron levels in breastfeeding mothers of 0-6 months old baby.Monitoring maternal health since pregnancy is necessary to obtain adequate breast milk in quality and quantity.