Determination of The Concentration of Calcium Level in Blood of Babies Kept Growing on Breastfeeding, Artificial Feeding and Mixed Feeding in Libya

Abstract

Objectives: This study was designed to investigate the concentration of calcium level in blood of breast, artificial and mixed feeding babies. Methods: The total number of babies covered were 269 babies of different ages, however, the babies were divided into four groups, including group (I) consists of 98 male and female babies aged between (1 day -6 months), group (II) consists of 53 male and female babies aged between (7 m -12 m), group (III) consists of 59 male and female babies aged between (13 m -18 m), and group (IV) consists of 59 male and female babies aged between (19 m -2 m). Results: The mean concentration of serum blood calcium in breast feeding (9.25 mg/dL) was significantly lower (P < 0.05) than artificial feeding (9.79 mg/ dL) and mixed feeding (9.88 mg/dL). Meanwhile, the mean concentration of serum blood calcium level (8.93 mg/ dL) in babies aged between (13 m-18m) was significantly lower (p<0.05) than other aged groups. However, the effect of the babies’ gender o the concentration of calcium indicated that the serum calcium levels did not show any significant difference among males and females’ babies. Conclusion: The relationship between age type of feeding and the gender show a correlation among the factors studied, therefore, it can be concluded that the babies fed on mixed milk got a benefit regarding the levels of these minerals as their serum levels are higher than the serum levels of babies fed on breast and artificial milk.