Future Applications of Human Milk Reference Values for Nutrients: A Global Resource for Maternal and Child Nutrition Research

The World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 mo of life as human milk is considered to be the optimal form of nutrition to support infant health and development. Human milk provides many nutrient and non-nutrient bioactive compounds to young infants, including micronutrients. In contexts where diets are nutritionally poor, the concentration of micronutrients in human milk is lower, impacting infant's supply. However, understanding when lower values indicate the need for interventions and then evaluating the impact of interventions on maternal nutritional status and milk nutrient concentrations has been challenged by the absence of reliable reference values (RVs) for nutrient concentrations in human milk. The multicenter Mothers, Infants, and Lactation Quality (MILQ) and Early-MILQ studies were developed to establish evidence-based RVs for human milk nutrients. This paper presents and discusses the potential utility of these RVs as an international reference for global maternal and child health research.