Jornal de Citologia e Histologia

Cytology of the Human Milk in the First Post Partum Week - A Clinical Perspective

Abstract

Satish Manohar Patki, Vijay Tukaram Mali, Ujjwala Satish Patki and Shweta Satish Patki

Human milk is a dynamic physiological fluid. The short term and long term benefits of breast feeding are already very well established. Apart from the nutritional components, the human milk contains many growth factors & different kinds of live cells. Present study is an observational study of the cytological evaluation of the 100 samples of human milk collected in the first post partum week of Indian women. The interesting observation of the present study is the rising counts of the immune cells in the human milk which peak on day 5. This finding probably correlates with the greater immunological needs of the neonate in the first week. These cells help the neonate in providing cell mediated immune responses and protection against respiratory and gut infections. They also help in the process of the neonatal gut maturation. The counts of the epithelial cells in the human milk are observed to be steady throughout the, first post partum week. The mesenchymal stem cells observed in the human milk could be myoepithelial in origin. The higher levels of the growth factors like hepotocyte growth factor and vascular endothelial growth factor in the human milk when compared with the umbilical cord or the maternal serum could be attributed to the paracrine secretions by the stem cells. The observations of the present study are correlating with the physiological needs of the neonate in the most important period of the first week after the birth. The study further strengthens the concept of exclusive breast feeding.