Effect of Small Daily Doses of B-carotene on Breast Milk Retinol

The purpose of this pilot study is to determine whether breast milk retinol concentration increases in response to daily supplementation with small amounts of vitamin A (\~600 ug RAE/d), as either a b-carotene or retinyl palmitate, 6 d/week for 3 weeks. A secondary purpose is to evaluate sampling methods for collecting breast milk samples in a community setting. The results of this pilot study will allow us to determine whether milk retinol is a useful indicator for evaluating the impact of food-based interventions on the vitamin A status of lactating women.